Obama to find Cuba contributing to peace, stability in upcoming visit: Granma

U.S. President Barack Obama will find a Cuba "that actively contributes to regional and global peace and stability" in his upcoming visit, Cuban daily Granma said on Wednesday.

Obama "will be welcomed by the government and people of Cuba with the hospitality they are known for," said an editorial published in the official newspaper of the ruling Cuban Communist Party.

The visit is to serve as an opportunity for Obama to "learn firsthand about a nation committed to its economic and social development, and the improvement of its people's well-being," it noted.

Last month, Obama announced on his Twitter account a visit to the island country, which is slated for March 21-22 and would be the first by a U.S. president since Calvin Coolidge in 1928.

The Cuban people "enjoy rights and can demonstrate achievements that constitute a chimera for many countries around the world," said the daily, noting all those have been achieved by Cuba as an embargoed and underdeveloped country.

It also demanded Washington cease meddling in Cuba's internal affairs and urged more efforts in changing its Cuba policies.

In February, Catholic Pope Francis and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill issued a joint declaration in Havana, describing Cuba as "the New World's symbol of hope," while French President Francois Hollande noted "Cuba is respected and heeded throughout Latin America."

In late 2014, Cuban President Raul Castro and Obama agreed to restore diplomatic ties after more than half a century of Cold War hostility between the two countries.

Since then, the two countries' respective embassies have reopened and exchanges have increased at different levels.

The visit "will be an important step in the process towards normalizing bilateral ties," the editorial said, but many issues are still pending, mainly lifting the decades-long U.S. trade embargo against Cuba. Endi