NAYPYITAW, Myanmar - Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird is in Myanmar to show Canada's support for the struggle for freedom in one of the world's most despotic countries.
Baird is kicking off the visit with a meeting with Myanmar Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin followed by a meeting with President Thein Sein at the presidential palace in the country's new capital of Naypyitaw (NAY'-pee-dah).
Later, he'll travel south to Yangon (YANG'-gawn), the former capital, to personally confer honorary Canadian citizenship on the Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
Suu Kyi is an international symbol of elegant defiance in a country that has endured decades of oppressive military rule.
She's running in a significant byelection next month that the world sees as crucial test of Myanmar's new civilian leadership.
Her National League for Democracy won a landslide electoral victory in 1990 but was barred by the military from forming a government.
