Cuba's Raul Castro to address UN on Sept. 28
Cuba's President Raul Castro will address the UN General Assembly in New York on September 28, Havana confirmed on September 16, but there was no mention of another possible meeting with US President Barack Obama.
On a first visit to the United Nations as head of state, the 84-year-old leader will listen to an address by Pope Francis on September 25 before addressing a development summit then giving his speech to the general assembly, Cuba's foreign minister said.
"He will hold numerous bilateral meetings with other heads of state and government, and will also hold meetings with various sectors of US society including personalities and representatives of solidarity and Cuban immigration," Bruno Rodriguez told a news conference in Havana.
Obama, who has spearheaded a US diplomatic rapprochement with Cuba, is also due to speak to the UN gathering on September 28 in New York.
Castro, who took over for his ailing brother Fidel provisionally in 2006 and definitively in 2008, has made only one known visit to the United States, briefly visiting Houston shortly after the 1959 revolution.
Castro and Obama stunned the world last December 17 by announcing detente following more than half a century of Cold War animosity between the two countries separated by 90 miles (145 km) of sea. That led to the restoration of diplomatic relations on July 20 after a 54-year break.
The pair also made further history by meeting at a regional summit in Panama in April.