Burmese President Thein Sein has told a group of U.S. business leaders that Burma is at a “critical juncture” as it moves from a military administration to democracy and economic reform.

He spoke Friday at a meeting in Cambodia's Siem Reap, just two days after the United States eased sanctions on Burma to allow U.S. businesses to invest there for the first time in 15 years.

Leaders of companies such as Coca Cola, Caterpillar, and Goldman Sachs attended the meeting.

Earlier Friday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with the Burmese president on the sidelines of the conference. Afterward, she thanked him for the release of some of Burma's political prisoners and urged him to release the rest.