WASHINGTON (November 8, 2012)--President Barack Obama will become the first U.S. president to visit Myanmar and Cambodia when he travels to the Asian nations later this month.

The White House says Mr. Obama will also visit Thailand.

The trip comes less than two weeks after Mr. Obama's re-election.

Mr. Obama's trip to Myanmar marks the culmination of a dramatic turnaround in the country's relations with Washington.

Myanmar, also known as Burma, has shifted from five decades of ruinous military rule and shaken off the pariah status it had earned through its bloody suppression of democracy.

The president has suspended sanctions to reward Myanmar for political prisoner releases and other democratic reforms.

In Cambodia, Mr. Obama will attend the East Asia summit and meet with the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Meanwhile Thursday, the White House said Mr. Obama has spoken with more than a dozen world leaders following his re-election and expressed his desire to continue to have close cooperation with them.

Mr. Obama spoke Thursday with British Prime Minister David Cameron, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and several other world leaders.

The White House said the president thanked them for their friendship and partnership, and interest in maintaining close cooperation between the U.S. and their country.

Mr. Obama also spoke with the leaders of Australia, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, France, India, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

The president also spoke with NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.