Historic meeting between President Obama and President Castro

On Friday, April 10, US President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro met at the Continental Summit held in Panama. The meeting between the two leaders is considered a historic milestone, marking the reconciliation between the US and Cuba after 53 years of hostility.

Since the historic handshake between President Obama and President Castro at the funeral of former South African President Nelson Mandela in 2013, this is the first time the two leaders of the United States and Cuba have met as heads of state since 1956. Although the two sides have not yet released official meeting schedules between the two leaders, both Mr. Obama and Mr. Castro will join the dinner with other leaders of the Americas after the opening of the Summit.

President Obama and President Castro shake hands during the funeral of former South African President Nelson Mandela on December 10, 2013. Photo: Reuters/Kai Pfaffenbach

As for the Summit of the Americas, this is a conference that brings together 30 leaders of American countries and takes place over 2 days. This conference is considered a special conference with the participation of Cuba after a long period of separation from the Organization of American States (OAS).

Earlier, on Thursday evening, a meeting between US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Cuban counterpart Bruno Rodriguez also took place. It is known that this is the first time that high-ranking officials of both countries have met since 1958. On this occasion, the US State Department announced that the country is starting to consider removing Cuba from the US list of countries supporting terrorism.

The Summit of the Americas took place in the context of a survey conducted in Cuba showing that 80% of the island's people have a favorable view of President Obama, while the figure for Mr. Raul Castro is 47% and Mr. Fidel Castro is 44%. Accordingly, the survey was based on personal interviews with 1,200 Cubans and is considered the largest-scale investigation in the island nation since 1959.

In addition, the survey also said that 80% of people are dissatisfied with the current Cuban economy. 64% think that warming relations with Washington can change the country's economic system while only 37% think that normalizing relations with the US can change the political system in Cuba.

Chu Thanh(According to Le Monde April 10)