New York’s governor and the president of Cuba have met to discuss economic development as relations between the Caribbean nation and the USA continue to thaw.
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Castro will attend the General Assembly on Friday to listen to an historic address from Pope Francis, who helped broker the recent rapprochement between Cuba and the United States.
Castro is due to address the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly on Monday for the first time as president.
Cuba estimates the embargo has caused $121 billion in damage to its economy.
“Such a policy is rejected by 188 United Nations member-states that demand its removal”, Castro told a UN development summit, referring to a UN resolution calling for the end of the decades-old embargo.
Although Obama has taken steps to ease trade and travel restrictions, only the U.S. Congress can lift the full embargo and that is not viewed as likely at the moment.
As it has done every year for more than 20 years, Cuba is urging the United Nations General Assembly to pass a resolution critical of the embargo, a text that normally obtains majority backing, but which, for the first time, could pass without a US vote against it.
Around 170 world leaders are expected to participate in the UN General Assembly, which this year marks its 70th anniversary.
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According to sources close to the island’s delegation, Raul Castro will talk with Mozambican President, Filipe Nyusi, one of the about 150 heads of State or Government that these days arrange to meet here to attend many high-level forums.
