WORLD / AMERICAS
Cuomo to lead trade mission to Cuba
Washington, Havana hold high-level talks on restoring diplomatic ties
Published: Jan 18, 2015 11:33 PM
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo will lead one of the first trade missions to Cuba from the United States since the Obama administration ­loosened travel and trade restrictions on the Caribbean island, his office confirmed on Saturday.

The announcement came as Vermont Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy set off on the first congressional mission to Cuba following Obama's announcement on December 17 that Washington would start normalizing ties with its old Cold War foe.

Cuomo will be promoting an initiative which seeks to attract foreign investment to New York state, said spokeswoman Melissa DeRosa.

"As part of the Global NY initiative, Governor Cuomo plans to lead a trade mission to Cuba. This is one of several such trips promoting New York that he plans to take in the coming term," she said.

Cuomo will be among the first high-profile US politicians to visit Cuba since last month's policy shift.

Their three-day trip aims to get an idea from Cuban government officials of how they see the normalization process and convey a sense of what Americans expect.

Leahy is heading a group of four Democratic senators and two Democratic representatives, all of whom strongly support Obama's policy, a statement from his office said.

Separately, the United States and Cuba held high-­level talks in Havana last week on normalizing ties.

A package of new rules came into effect on Friday implementing Obama's policy shift by opening up the island to expanded US travel, trade and financial activities.

The decades-old US embargo on Cuba remains in place, however, as only the US Congress can lift it.

While Cuban President Raul Castro has welcomed last month's deal, he has made clear that Havana does not intend to abandon single-party rule or state control of the economy.

Congressional critics of Obama's shift say Washington should not be rewarding Cuba.