European commission chief to visit Burma

European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso is set to arrive in Burma's capital Nay Pyi Taw for a key trade and diplomatic visit, the BBC reported. Barroso will meet President Thein Sein as well as opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Over the past decade, trade links and aid between the EU and Burma have been a fraction of those with other Asian countries. EU member states had imposed tough sanctions on the military because of repressive military rule. In the wake of the country's reform programme, the EU is now offering around $200m (?125m) in development aid over the next year, almost as much as it has given in the past 15. The EU is also offering Burma the same trade privileges that other low-income countries get. In recent months, violence between the mostly Muslim Rohingyas and Buddhists in Rakhine state has forced 100,000 from their homes.