(BRUSSELS) - EU aid chief Louis Michel landed Wednesday in Yangon, on a mission to help convince Myanmar's military junta to allow international aid in for victims of Cyclone Nargis, his spokesman told AFP.

Michel "expects to stay in Myanmar for around two days and have discussions with high-level Myanmar officials," his spokesman John Clancy said in Brussels.

The EU commissioner is also expected to meet with humanitarian aid officials and hopes to be able to visit the worst-hit Irrawaddy delta region.

"The commissioner hopes he will be able to visit some of the worst-hit districts to see the damage with his own eyes," added Clancy.

Earlier Wednesday in Bangkok, Michel warned that Myanmar is at risk of famine in the aftermath of the cyclone which destroyed rice stocks in a major agricultural region.

"The fact that it is the rice bowl of Myanmar (that has been hit) and that all the stocks of rice have been destroyed -- there is a risk of a catastrophe at the level of famine," he said in an interview with AFP.

Michel is hoping to press the ruling junta to open its doors to a full-scale emergency response to the cyclone which hit on May 3, leaving up to two million people in desperate need of food, water and shelter.

However Myanmar tightened access to its cyclone disaster zone Wednesday, turning back foreigners and ignoring pleas to accept outside experts who could save countless lives before time runs out.

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