Manmohan Meets Suu Kyi, Hails India Ties

In a break from her previous meetings, Suu Kyi came to the Sedona Hotel to meet the prime minister. Other world leaders have called on her at her lakeside villa where she spent long years under house arrest.

Manmohan Singh said he had handed over a letter from Congress president Sonia Gandhi to deliver the Jawaharlal Nehru memorial lecture.

He lauded Suu Kyi and said her life was one of "struggle and determination (which) has inspired millions of people all over the world".

He added that the she will play "a defining role" in the process of national reconciliation launched by President Thein Sein.

A string of world leaders have met Suu Kyi, who took oath as a parliamentarian May 2.

The visits followed dramatic reforms initiated by the military junta following Western sanctions. Myanmar has been under military rule for five decades.

The reforms are being powered by President Sein, who shed the uniform to play a key role in the formation of the Union Solidarity and Development Party. Manmohan Singh met the former general Monday.

Suu Kyi, who didn't leave Myanmar even when her huband was dying of cancer as she feared she may not be allowed back in, is a symbol of democracy in Myanmar, a country of over 54 million.

Born in June 1945, she was barely two when her father was assassinated. She won the Nobel Peace prize in 1991.

On May 2, Suu Kyi, whose party swept last month's by-elections, was sworn in as a member of Myanmar's parliament.