U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he will meet with Myanmar’s military leader, Senior Gen. Than Shwe, during his visit in the cyclone-ravaged country on Thursday, CNN reported.

The U.N. Secretary-General made public his intentions Wednesday in Bangkok, where he will spend the night.

The point of the meeting between the two officials is clear: Myanmar must allow a wider relief effort, said Ban, who described the moment as “critical” for the South Asian country.

“We have a functioning program in place, but so far we have only been able to reach about 25 percent of Myanmar's people in need," Ban said.

The UN World Food Program and the International Red Cross were very prompt in sending relief workers to Myanmar after Cyclone Nargis struck, but their movement has been limited.
However, 9 U.N. helicopters were granted access to cross Myanmar’s borders, said Ban.

Myanmar has allowed foreign aid to pass its borders but to a small extent. Although several nations, including the US, managed to send aid supplies, this amounts to only 20 percent of the needed supplies.

The U.N. Secretary-General expressed his optimism that the Burmese government will grant visas to the foreign aid workers who are still waiting for that move at the country’s borders.

Ban will tour the destruction in the Irrawaddy River delta region which was hit by Tropical Cyclone Nargis nearly 20 days ago. The tropical storm killed nearly 134,000 people and left hundreds of thousands without shelter.

The U.N. also estimated that nearly 1.6 million to 2.5 million survivors need urgent help consisting in food, water, shelter and medicine.