Obama, Castro discuss steps to advance ties

U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday discussed with his Cuban counterpart Raul Castro steps that the two countries could take to advance bilateral cooperation, the White House said.

In a telephone conversation, the two leaders underscored the importance of the U.S. and Cuba re-establishing diplomatic ties and the reopening of embassies in their respective countries, the White House said in a statement.

They noted the cooperation between U.S. and Cuban medical professionals during the U.S. Naval Ship COMFORT's visit to Haiti this week, it added.

The telephone talk came on the day when the U.S. announced new measures to further ease travel and business restrictions on Cuba, two months after Washington and Havana re-established diplomatic ties, ending more than five decades of enmity.

On Friday, Obama and Castro also commended the role that Pope Francis has played in improving relations between the U.S. and Cuba in advance of his upcoming visits to both countries.

Pope Francis will start his four-day visit to Cuba on Saturday before heading to the U.S. Obama will host Pope Francis at the White House on Wednesday. Enditem