Rajiv Shah, the head of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), will visit Burma on March 8-9, USAID announced on Wednesday. The visit would strengthen a US $170 million US-Burma Partnership program set up in November that promotes development, human rights, democracy and peace in Burma in partnership with American companies, universities and non-governmental organizations. Meanwhile, the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission under the US House Foreign Affairs Committee announced it is holding a hearing on human rights in Burma on Thursday. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Michael Posner and Acting Special Representative and Policy Coordinator for Burma Patrick Murphy will testify for the commission.