The informal interaction between US President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro right before the opening ceremony of the Summit of the Americas in Panama City was brief and casual, TeleSUR reports.
According to a video aired by the Venezuela-based TV channel, Castro and Obama shook hands and exchanged a few words at the Atlapa Convention Center where the summit is taking place. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez and the presidents of Panama, Ecuador and Colombia witnessed the historical greeting.
"At the Summit of the Americas this evening, President Obama and President Castro greeted each other and shook hands," National Security Council Spokesperson Bernadette Meehan said on Friday, as quoted by Reuters, which also reported that the pair did not have a substantive conversation, according to an anonymous White House official.
Obama spoke with Castro over the phone on Wednesday prior to leaving for the Seventh Summit of the Americas, which is taking place in Panama on April 10-11. The two are expected to meet on Saturday.
On December 17, 2014, US President Barack Obama announced the official normalization of relations with Cuba, including the restoration of diplomatic relations, the lifting of financial, trade and visa restrictions, and the forthcoming decision to exclude Cuba from the list of sponsors of terrorism.
The Summit of the Americas is a gathering of countries from the Western Hemisphere in which policy solutions to urgent regional challenges are addressed.
