Burma’s President Thein Sein will visit New Zealand and Australia this week, the president’s office and the New Zealand government said. The visit is scheduled to begin on Thursday and conclude on Sunday. The president and his delegation will receive a formal state welcome at the Government House in Auckland on Thursday followed by a state dinner that evening. Thein Sein will also meet with representatives from international diary firm Fonterra and the University of Auckland. Details about the president’s visit to Australia were not yet available. New Zealand and Australia are strengthening their relations with Burma in response to the reforms begun by Thein Sein’s government in 2011.