Havana, March 20 (RHC)--U.S President Barack Obama arrived in Havana on Sunday afternoon, for an official visit.
The U.S. President was received at Havana's José Martí International Airport by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez, and other Foreign Ministry officials, including Josefina Vidal, Director General for the United States, who has headed the Cuban delegation to most of the bilateral meetings taking place between the two countries since the historic announcement of December 17th, 2014, which marked the beginning of a process towards the normalization of U.S.-Cuba relations.
President Obama's agenda in Havana includes official talks with President Raúl Castro on Monday, and tours of the Havana Cathedral, the Plaza de Armas square, around which the city was born, the Havana City History Museum, and other places. Obama is scheduled to pay tribute to Cuban National Hero José Martí, on Monday, prior to his meeting with Raúl Castro.
On Tuesday morning, President Obama will deliver a public address, which will be broadcast live on Cuban radio and television. In the afternoon, he is scheduled to attend a baseball game between the Cuban national team and the Tampa Bay Rays.
President Barack Obama is being accompanied on this historic visit to Cuba by his wife Michelle Obama, their two daughters, Malia and Sasha; members of his cabinet, and a congressional delegation made up of both, Democratic and Republican lawmakers.
The U.S. President's visit to Cuba takes place 15 months after the December 2014 announcement of the re-establishing of U.S.-Cuba relations.
Barack Obama is the first U.S. president to visit Cuba after the 1959 triumph of the Revolution.
Prior to the U.S. President's arrival in the Cuban capital, several Cuban officials offered statements to the Cuban and foreign press accredited to cover the visit. At one of those press conferences, Dr. Agustín Lage, Director of the Havana-based Center for Melecular Immunology, announced that U.S. patients will soon benefit from several Cuban biotechnology products, given that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has approved the registration of more than 30 Cuban patents for use in the United States.
