Country preps for first-ever Obama visit

A Burmese man walks by a graffiti depicting President Barack Obama as the city gets ready for the first visit by a serving US President, on November 17 in Yangon, Myanmar. Obama is making a four-day tour of Southeast Asia that will also include visits to Thailand and Cambodia. Kyu Kyu Mar, owner of Super silk screening shop holds a T-shirt printed with an image of US President Barack Obama on November 16 in Yangon, Myanmar. A Buddhist Monk reads a local newspaper carrying a picture of US President Barack Obama in downtown Yangon on November 17. A Burmese worker is seen in a flag shop surrounded by American flags on November 16 in Yangon, Myanmar Cups printed with pictures of US President Barack Obama and Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi are displayed at a shop in downtown Yangon on November 17. T-shirts printed with pictures of US President Barack Obama and Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi at a shop in downtown Yangon on November 17. "America's success in the 20th Century is tied to the success of Asia," a U.S. official says President Barack Obama is in Thailand as part of a three-day tour of Asia The trip is billed as an effort to boost economic and political ties with Asia Obama will be the first sitting U.S. president to visit Myanmar, also known as Burma Bangkok, Thailand (CNN) -- In an effort to boost economic and political ties with Asia, U.S. President Barack Obama began a three-day trip of the region with a stop Sunday in Thailand. But it's Obama's planned visit to Myanmar on Monday that is grabbing the most attention as no sitting U.S. president has visited the long-repressed country now taking steps toward democratization. During his stop in Thailand, Obama will meet with Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra ahead of this week's East Asia Summit. Asia's vast economy, which accounts for roughly a quarter of the global gross domestic product, is part of a significant relationship with the United States. "Our approach is grounded in a simple proposition: The United States is a Pacific power whose interests inextricably linked to ... Asia's economic security and political order," U.S. National Security Adviser Tom Donilon said last week. "America's success in the 20th Century is tied to the success of Asia." Donilon also stressed America's security obligations in the area given neighboring flash points, including North Korea and China. Security and humanitarian concerns, trade and energy will be among the issues addressed throughout the president's trip and during the East Asia Conference in Cambodia, he said. Following his visit to Thailand, Obama will leave for Myanmar -- a once reclusive country under the control of a military junta that recently began taking steps towards democracy. Obama will meet with President Thein Sein and Nobel Prize Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, a pro-democracy icon who spent 15 years under house arrest. Suu Kyi was freed two years ago and elected to the Myanmar parliament this year. Myanmar, also known as Burma, has embarked on a series of reforms since 2011 following decades of repressive military rule. Under Thein Sein, the government released hundreds of political prisoners in the past year and taken steps to open up the country's economy. Western governments have responded to Myanmar's progressive efforts by easing sanctions that targeted the military regime. "I think the president's message when he goes is going to be one of welcoming the progress that has taken place, noting the truly historic developments that we've seen over the course of the last year, but also underscoring that more work needs to be done to insure a full transition to civilian rule to ensure a full transition to democracy and to bring about national reconciliation," said Ben Rhodes, the deputy national security adviser for strategic communications. But the country has also witnessed bouts of turmoil in recent weeks. Violence between Rohingya Muslims and local Buddhists broke out in the western state of Rakhine. The United Nations said at least 89 people were killed in two weeks, and 110,000 were displaced. Some aid organizations are questioning whether now is the right time for Obama to add legitimacy to Thein Sein's government. After Myanmar, Obama will attend the East Asia Summit in Cambodia. But American politics managed to seep into the trip, at least through a joke. Obama, accompanied by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, joked Sunday with a monk in Thailand: "We're working on this budget; we're going to need a lot of prayer for that." CNN's Gabriella Schwarz, Paula Hancocks and Dan Rivers contributed to this report.