Pretoria - Amid thawing relations, US President Barack Obama held talks with his Cuban counterpart Raul Castro at the United Nations on Tuesday.
This was the first meeting between the Heads of State of the two countries on American soil in more than five decades.
The presidents discussed recent advances in relations between the two countries, as well as additional steps each government can take to deepen bilateral cooperation, the White House said in a statement.
During the meeting, Obama highlighted US regulatory changes that will allow more Americans to travel to and do business with Cuba, while helping to improve the lives of the Cuban people, it said.
Earlier this month, the US announced new amendments to sanctions on Cuba, further easing travel and business restrictions on the island country.
Obama welcomed the progress made in establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries in July, and underscored that continued reforms in Cuba would increase the impact of US regulatory changes, according to the statement.
In addition, the US president highlighted steps Washington intended to take to improve ties between the American and Cuban peoples, and reiterated US support for human rights in Cuba.
The two leaders also discussed the recent visits of Pope Francis to both countries.
On Tuesday, Obama and Castro briefly shook hands in a small meeting room at the UN before starting their closed-door talks.
In his address to the UN General Assembly on Monday, Obama said that he is "confident" that US Congress will "inevitably lift an embargo that should not be in place anymore".
Castro, on the other hand, demanded in his speech on Monday an end to the trade embargo, the return of the land used as the Guantanamo Bay military base and compensation for decades of economic damages.
The Cuban leader also criticised the US for a history of "wars of aggression and interference in the internal affairs of the states, the ousting of sovereign governments by force, the so-called 'soft coups' and the recolonization of territories". – SAnews.gov.za-Xinhua
