Photos: Obama Visits Cambodia, Myanmar, and Thailand

November 19th, 2012 by Anne Zhou

In Yangon, a Burmese man walks by a mural depicting U.S. President Barack Obama as the city gets ready for the first visit by a serving U.S. President, on Nov. 17, 2012. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

U.S. President Barack Obama kisses Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi after making a speech at her residence in Yangon on Nov. 19, 2012. (Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images)

U.S. President Barack Obama meets with Burmese President U Thein Sein at Yangon Regional Parliament during his historic visit to the country on Nov. 19, 2012. (Photo by Kaung Htet/Getty Images)

U.S. President Barack Obama is greeted upon arrival at the Phnom Penh International Airport in Phnom Penh, Cambodia to attend the East Asia Summit on Nov. 19, 2012. (Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images)

U.S. President Barack Obama shakes hands with Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra before a bilateral meeting at the Thai Government House in Bangkok on Nov. 18, 2012. (Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images)

U.S. President Barack Obama and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton view the Vihan of the Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho in Bangkok, Thailand on Nov. 18, 2012. (Pete Souza/U.S. Department of State)

L to R: U.S. Ambassador to Thailand Kristie Kenney, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and U.S. President Barack Obama meet with King Bhumibol Adulyadej in Bangkok, Thailand on Nov. 18, 2012. (Pete Souza/U.S Deptartment of State)

Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra offers a toast at an official dinner with U.S. President Barack Obama and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton at the Government House in Bangkok, Thailand on Nov. 18, 2012. (Pete Souza/U.S. Department of State)

L to R: President Obama, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao pose for a "family photo" ahead of a gala dinner at the ASEAN summit in Phnom Penh on Nov. 19, 2012. (Christophe Archambault/AFP/Getty Images)

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On a three-day tour of Southeast Asia, U.S. President Barack Obama visited Thailand, Myanmar, and Cambodia in a diplomatic exchange intended to encourage political reform.

He marks history as the first sitting President to visit Myanmar, where he was greeted by tens of thousands of people and met both President U Thein Sein and opposition leader, Aung Sang Suu Kyi.

In a speech at the University of Yangon in Myanmar, he said, "I have come to keep my promise and extend the hand of friendship." His historical visit signals a hopeful progress of Southeast Asian countries working towards a democratic transition.

Myanmar was the middle stop in Obama's tour. He spent Sunday in Bangkok, where he met Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and King Bhumibol, and proceeded from Yangon to Phnom Penh, where he was scheduled to attend meetings with leaders from around the region as part of the ASEAN summit.