Detroit, March 24 (RHC)-- “Michigan and Cuba could be great business partners,” Cuba’s Ambassador to the U.S. José Ramón Cabañas said Tuesday.

“I think (like Cuba,) your main asset here is the people,” the Cuban ambassador said after his keynote address to the Detroit Economic Club. “We probably should think about how we can compliment each other. No doubt agriculture is one field, but there are many others.”

Cabañas, who has been Cuba’s ambassador to the U.S. since 2015, spoke to a crowd of about 200 people at the club’s luncheon.

“I invite all of you to come to Cuba and see what we have done over the last few years,” he said.

The Cuban senior diplomat visited Michigan and Detroit to discuss Washington's nearly 60 year-old blockade of Cuba and future investment opportunities on the Caribbean island.

Cabañas said the blockade on Cuba damages U.S. and Cuban interests, and continues to have profound repercussions on the Caribbean nation’s economy. He called members of the audience at the economic club luncheon to urge elected officials to lift it.

Cabañas' speech at the Detroit Economic Club came a day after he spoke to the board of directors of the Michigan Farm Bureau.