New President of Cuba has enormous challenges: Ambassador Cordoves

The new President of Cuba, Miguel Daz-Canel, has "enormous" challenges before him, including lifting the US blockade, Cuban Ambassador to India Martinez Cordoves said here today.

He added that the biggest challenge before Cuba was the "international instability" due to US President Donald Trump's policy.

"The biggest challenge we have right now is the international instability due to the policy of US President Trump and the blockade.

"He (Daz-Canel) is prepared and the Cubans are prepared for that," Cordoves said.

The challenges for the first non-Castro president of the country also included lifting its economy and maintaining its legacy of revolutionary leaders, he added.

Trump's policy was "blockade", "hostility" and "favouring" the Right-wing Cubans in the US, Cordoves said, adding that Cuba would like to normalise its relations with the "mighty" US.

Talking about Cuba's relations with India, he hoped that Daz-Canel would be here on a visit.

The Cuban ambassador also stressed on stronger ties between the two countries through an enhanced people-to-people contact involving tourism and underlined the need for a direct flight between India and Cuba.

Daz-Canel (57) became the President of Cuba last week. He is the first president of the country who was born after the 1959 revolution and the first non-Castro head of the State.

The Castro brothers, Fidel and Raul, had ruled the country for the last six decades.