The United States formally lifting its sanctions on Myanmar by terminating an emergency order that deemed the policies of the former military government a threat to U.S. national security, president Barack Obama announced.

The move followed a meeting between Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and Obama in Washington last month.

Obama said in a letter to the U.S. House and Senate speakers, that, "I have determined that the situation that gave rise to the national emergency has been significantly altered by Burma's (Myanmar's) substantial advances to promote democracy, including historic elections in November 2015."

According to the US Treasury statement, as a result of the termination of the emergency order the economic and financial sanctions administered by the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control were no longer in effect.

"While Burma faces significant challenges, including the consolidation of its democracy, the United States can, and intends to, use other means to support the government and people of Burma in their efforts to address these challenges," Obama's letter said.

Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and democracy icon, helped persuade the West to impose sanctions on Myanmar, which is also known as Burma, during her years as a jailed opposition leader.

On the other hand, some members of the U.S. Congress have expressed concerns about the extent and durability of change in Myanmar and introduced legislation seeking to give lawmakers some influence on the process of easing sanctions.

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Nandini