Australia to lift sanctions on Myanmar

Australia says it will lift sanctions against Myanmar, excluding an arms embargo, to encourage the Asian country's ongoing democracy movement.Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr, who is visiting Myanmar, made the announcement on Thursday after meeting with Myanmar's President Thein Sein and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Carr welcomed the democracy process underway in the country and stressed the need to speed it up.
He said the Australian government will lift sanctions against Myanmar in a few weeks. This will include the bans on financial transactions and travel restrictions on those related to the military.

Carr also announced Australia will double its annual aid to Myanmar to around 100 million US dollars by 2015, mainly in the areas of education, medicine, law and social support systems.