(VOVworld) - The government of Cuba and the Cuban people will welcome US President Barack Obama with their traditional hospitality, a visit that represents a step forward in relations between Cuba and the US.

Josefina Vidal, director general of the US division at Cuba's Foreign Ministry, announces the upcoming visit of the US President to Cuba in Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Feb. 18, 2016. (Desmond Boylan, AP)

At a news conference in Havana Thursday, Josefina Vidal, the general director for US affairs at the Cuban Foreign Ministry, called for the US economic and trade embargo on Cuba to be lifted and for the US naval base at Guantanamo to be returned to Cuban control.