Washington: The Senate has confirmed the
nomination of the first US special envoy to Myanmar.
Derek Mitchell will lead Washington`s efforts to
engage with the military-dominated Asian country and encourage
democratic reform that have progressed little in two years.
Mitchell was previously a senior defense official for
Asia-Pacific affairs. His new position as special
representative and policy coordinator for Myanmar has the rank
of ambassador.
It has been vacant since it was mandated under 2008
legislation that increased sanctions on Myanmar`s regime.
The Senate also confirmed late Monday the nomination
of David Shear as ambassador to Vietnam that had been blocked
by lawmakers protesting US handling of adoptions of Vietnamese
orphans by some American families.
PTI
