May 26 (Bloomberg) -- Myanmar's cyclone aid conference was an exercise in building trust between the junta and the international community that wants relief workers allowed into the worst-hit region, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon said.

The meeting of more than 50 delegates in Yangon will help ``confidence and cooperation,'' Ban said in Thailand's capital, Bangkok, yesterday. The ``tens of millions of dollars'' pledged was a ``good beginning,'' he said, adding that donors expect Myanmar's government to act in the spirit of the new agreement.

Senior General Than Shwe, who leads the country formerly known as Burma, last week promised to drop restrictions on international relief workers wanting to visit the southern Irrawaddy River delta.

More than half of the 2.4 million people affected by Cyclone Nargis probably haven't received international or domestic assistance, UN emergency relief coordinator John Holmes told the conference. At least 133,000 people are dead or missing after the cyclone slammed into Myanmar May 2-3, packing winds of 120 miles (190 kilometers) an hour.

The junta faced criticism for failing to allow outside aid workers into the delta region. Than Shwe told Ban the regime will let them help with the relief effort, regardless of their nationalities. He also said Yangon airport can be used to distribute aid and supplies can be delivered to the country in civilian ships.

Myanmar's government accepted a Japanese medical investigation team that will visit disaster zones in the country over five days, broadcaster NHK reported today, without specifying when the trip will begin.

`New Beginning'

``We have, here, a chance for a new beginning,'' Ban said, according to a transcript. ``Let us make the most of it.''

The U.S. has offered $20.5 million and said it is ready to donate more if humanitarian workers have unhindered access to the delta and can carry out an independent assessment.

``I hope and believe that any hesitation the government of Myanmar may have had about allowing international humanitarian groups to operate freely in the affected areas is now a thing of the past,'' Ban told the conference, which was sponsored by the UN and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which includes Myanmar among its 10 members.

Ban said he expects the relief effort to last for at least six months.

The final amount of money donated to Myanmar may depend on signs the regime is upholding its pledge on relief workers.

`Subject to Access'

``Donor countries are interested in giving support, but again it's subject to access,'' Ramesh Shrestha, the UN Children's Fund representative for Myanmar, said in an interview May 23.

The junta estimates the cyclone may have caused $10.7 billion in damage, according to Shrestha, who met last week with U Soe Tha, the country's development minister.

Myanmar's agriculture industry needs ``urgent assistance'' to overcome the cyclone damage, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

Only a few weeks remain until the rice-planting season begins and farmers must be provided with salt-tolerant seed varieties for fields still flooded with sea water, He Changchui, the FAO's chief in the Asia-Pacific region, said in a statement.

``A failure to deal with this problem today will immeasurably compound our problems tomorrow,'' Ban said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Michael Heath in Sydney at mheath1@bloomberg.net; Daniel Ten Kate in Bangkok at dtenkate@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: May 26, 2008 05:29 EDT