U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton welcomed activists from Myanmar including a comedian recently freed from prison as part of Washington’s efforts to encourage reform in the country.

Clinton stretched out both hands to greet Zarganar, a poet, filmmaker and performer who has been a prominent source of dissent in the country formerly known as Burma.

Zarganar, who was repeatedly incarcerated and sentenced to decades in prison after helping survivors of devastating Cyclone Nargis in 2008, was released in October as President Thein Sein seeks to ease decades of harsh rule.

Clinton also met at the State Department with Bauk Gyar, an ethnic minority activist from Kachin state who is running in closely watched April 1 by-elections, and women’s campaigner Khin Than Myint.

The three activists are travelling together to Washington. They spoke last week at the National Endowment for Democracy, where they gave mixed opinions on whether reforms by the nominally civilian government were significant.

Clinton paid a landmark visit to Myanmar in December as part of an effort by President Barack Obama’s administration to support change in the Southeast Asian country, long considered a pariah by the West.

Kurt Campbell, the assistant secretary of state for East Asia, said Wednesday that he was “hopeful” about Myanmar but that the U.S. would need to “temper our enthusiasm” to ensure that more is done.

“We will need to ensure that we have the support of others so that this historic opening can continue,” Campbell told a conference on Singapore at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“The United States is supportive of this effort and we will want to take the appropriate diplomatic, political and assistance and economic steps in order to make clear to the leadership that we recognize and appreciate and support their steps towards reform,” Campbell said.

The United States has started the process of restoring full diplomatic relations with Myanmar and on Monday announced a waiver to allow assessments in the country by international financial institutions. (AFP)