Hollande meets Castro on bilateral ties

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Visiting French President Francois Hollande and Cuban leader Raul Castro on Monday discussed ways to strengthen political and economic ties between their countries.

The two men stressed the positive state of bilateral relations and the possibilities of expanding the political and economic ties and exchanged views on international issues, Cuban media reported.

Hollande, the first ever French head of state to visit Cuba, also met Fidel Castro, who handed over power to his brother, Raul, in 2006.

Hollande, who arrived late Sunday night in the Cuban capital of Havana,is also the first Western European head of state to visit the island Cuba in more than 55 years.

France has joined the Netherlands and Spain in leading an European Union push to normalize ties with Cuba, suspended in 2003. The EU opened talks on restoring ties in April 2014.

Both Europe and the United States are seeking to normalize relations with Cuba. Hollande's visit came after the United States and Cuba announced their willingness to restore diplomatic ties.

Earlier on Monday, the French president urged Washington to end an half-century-old trade embargo on Cuba in a speech at the University of Havana before meeting with Fidel and Raul Castro respectively.

He said his country would do whatever possible to see that "the measures that have so badly harmed Cuba's development can finally be lifted, repealed."

Hollande said his trip came "at a particularly important but also uncertain time," as the United States seeks to restore diplomatic relations with Cuba and European countries scramble to reinforce ties.

Hollande, traveling with a delegation of French business leaders, said that the two countries would sign a series of agreements on improved access to Latin American markets.

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