Obama concluded his visit to Havana with an appeal to Cubans

Фото: Depositphotos

US President Barack Obama completed his official visit to Cuba. At the International Airport. José Martí, in Havana, was accompanied personally by the Cuban leader Raul Castro.

On Tuesday, Obama addressed the Cuban people, thanking the local people for their hospitality and recalling the hundreds of thousands of Cubans who moved to America.

“Havana is only 145 kilometers from Florida,” Obama said, “but to reach where we are today, we had to overcome the huge distances between the barriers erected by history and ideology, the barriers of pain and separation.”

According to the US President, problems in relations between Washington and Havana remain “real and significant”, but both sides can continue to move forward towards normalization of relations.

The President of the United States, referring to the Cuban people, recalled the complex history of relations between the two countries, taking a course on normalizing relations and his vision of future relationships between former adversaries in the Cold War.

“I came here to bury the last vestiges of the Cold War in America,” Obama said. “We came here to extend a hand of friendship to the Cuban people.”

The US President’s speech at the Bolshoi Theater of Havana was viewed as one of the central events of Obama’s historic visit, which was the first American leader in 88 years to visit Cuba.

In his speech, Barack Obama also commented a series of attacks in Belgium 22 March, the results of which killed 31 people and more than 100 people were injured.

“The thoughts and prayers of the American people are with the people of Belgium. We will do whatever it takes to help Belgium, ”Obama said, stressing that the whole world must be united in the fight against terrorism.

Как wrote the day before ForumDaily, speaking after talks with Castro at the Palace of the Revolution on Monday, Obama stressed that the United States no longer views Cuba as a threat to its security.

In April, 2015, Barack Obama addressed the US Congress with a recommendation to remove Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism, in which it was placed in the 1982 year. 29 May Cuba was excluded from this list, which was another step towards resumption of diplomatic relations between countries and the opening of consulates.

Among the remaining differences, Obama called the attitude of the Cuban authorities to human rights in the country. According to the American president, he made it clear to Castro that the US will continue to raise this issue.

As part of his Cuban voyage, Barack Obama laid a wreath at the foot of the monument to the national hero of Cuba, José Marti, visiting the Martí Museum and leaving an entry in the Book of Distinguished Guests, and was photographed against the backdrop of the giant bas-relief of the revolutionary Ernesto Che Guevara, made by Cuban sculptor Enrique Avila, based on the famous photograph Albert Cords.

Before departure, Obama and Castro attended a friendly baseball match between the Cuban national team and the American League MLB team Tampa Bay Rays, organized specifically for the visit of the US President.

Among the main outcomes of Obama’s visit is also the agreement that US companies will help Cubans to establish high-speed Internet access. Among other things, Google intends to open a technology center in Havana, as well as to establish additional wifi points on the island.

According to Barack Obama, Verizon’s largest US provider will help conduct a direct land line between Cuba and the United States, and Cisco organizes internships for Cuban students to help them develop their information technology skills.

Read also on ForumDaily:

Obama announced the complete lifting of the embargo for Cuba

Obama's historic visit to Cuba in photos

How to fly to Cuba from the United States under the new rules

US airlines have applied for flights from Miami to Cuba

It's open again: will Russians and Americans fight for Cuba

US and Cuba began historical negotiations in Havana

Go to the page ForumDaily on Facebook to keep abreast of the latest news and comment material.