Aung San Suu Kyi to visit US in September

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi will visit the United States in September, marking her first US visit in at least 20 years.

The Atlantic Council think tank said Suu Kyi, who recently returned to Myanmar, also known as Burma, after her triumphant European trip, would receive its Global Citizen Award in New York on September 21.

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The award recognizes “visionary global leaders,” Voice of America reported.

The Associated Press contacted Suu Kyi, who confirmed the trip but gave no details on her itinerary. 

It would be the pro-democracy activist’s first visit to the United States since the 1980s when she worked for the United Nations, VOA said. She spent most of the past two decades under house arrest.

Suu Kyi, 67, would have the opportunity to meet with US government officials during her visit, the US State Department said, according to the AP.

The Nobel Peace laureate recently spent two weeks in Europe, visiting France, Switzerland, Norway, Britain and Ireland, where she received treatment normally reserved for heads of state.

She is likely to receive a similar welcome in the United States, where she is greatly admired by both sides of the political aisle. 

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