Myanmar opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi called yesterday for “democracy-friendly” investment in her impoverished country and a political settlement to end ethnic bloodshed as she began a landmark European tour.

Ms Suu Kyi, who arrived at the UN offices in Geneva to flowers and applause, appealed for the investment to create jobs for young people in a speech to delegates at the International Labour Organization conference.

Ms Suu Kyi later yesterday took the train to the capital Bern but she had to cut short a planned press conference in the Swiss capital due to exhaustion.

The Myanmar opposition leader said she was “totally exhausted” from travelling.

“I am not used to the time difference,” she told reporters gathered in Bern where she was scheduled to speak to journalists after talks with Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter.

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