(VOVworld) – US President Barack Obama, the first sitting President to visit Cuba since 1928, said the trade sanction would be fully lifted. He said this at a meeting with President Raul Castro in Havana on March 22. The two leaders told the press following their meeting that there are pending issues on economic reform and human rights.
 

Cuban President Raul Castro and President Obama hold talks in Havana on March 21, 2016. (Photo: Michael Reynolds, European Pressphoto Agency)

They agreed on the need to lift US embargo on Cuba over the past 50 years. Raul said the best formula to enhance the US-Cuba relations is the US to remove embargo and return Guantanamo Bay to Cuba. They expressed optimism over bilateral cooperation in trade, tourism, security, health, and drug trafficking.
President Obama said: “The US recognizes progress that Cuba made for the nation, its enormous achievements in education and healthcare. More importantly, I affirm that Cuba’s destiny will not be decided by the US or any other nation. Cuba, its sovereignty and the future of Cuba will be decided by Cuban people, not by anybody else.”
While in Cuba, Obama will visit the Havana old quarter, deliver a speech at Alicia Alonso theater, and attend a baseball match between Cuba national team and American Tampa Bay Rays team.