U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is heading to Burma next month as part of a thawing of ties with the ruling military junta. Clinton’s visit would mark the first by a U.S. secretary of state in 50 years. Speaking at a summit in Bali, President Obama said he sees “flickers of progress” in Burma.

President Obama: “After years of darkness, we’ve seen flickers of progress in these last several weeks… We want to seize what could be a historic opportunity for progress and make it clear that if Burma continues to travel down the road of democratic reform, it can forge a new relationship with the United States of America. Last night, I spoke to Aung San Suu Kyi directly and confirmed that she supports American engagement to move this process forward.”

As news broke of Clinton’s visit, Burma’s pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, announced she will run for parliament in Burma’s next elections. Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy will register for the vote after boycotting last year’s elections.