Clinton ‘thrilled’ to meet Aung San Suu Kyi

BRIAN WILLIAMS, anchor: There was an extraordinary meeting today between two of the world's most closely watched women. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton , on a historic trip to the isolate nation of Myanmar , met with the pro-democracy activist and Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi , and they stood outside Suu Kyi 's home where she's -- was held under house arrest for years. The two embraced warmly and seemed thrilled to be in each other's company. Secretary Clinton spoke about what this moment meant for both of them in an interview with NBC 's Kristen Welker .

Secretary HILLARY CLINTON: Obviously, you know, I was thrilled to finally meet her. She felt like an old friend that I was seeing again after some long absence. But it was personally incredibly important to me. But it was also substantively important because we have worked with her closely over the last months to make sure that we understood what she thought was happening inside the country, that our policy was aligned with that.

KRISTEN WELKER reporting: What do you think she means to the people here in this country and to United States efforts to try to help bring about reform here?

Sec. CLINTON: I think she is so admired because of her steadfast dignity and determination and the fact that she stands on her own for democracy, for freedom and justice. And then because of the connection with her father, who was the liberator who achieved independence for Burma , there's a sense of continuity and what might have been and what still could be.

WILLIAMS: Kristen Welker traveling with the secretary of state today. By the way, the last time an American secretary of state visited Myanmar it was called Burma , and that man was John Foster Dulles representing President Eisenhower back in 1955 . Up