HAVANA, May 17. /TASS/. Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called Washington’s decision to relax a number of visa and financial restrictions against the republic’s citizens a step in the right direction. A statement on the matter was published on Monday on the ministry’s website.
"Today, the government of the United States announced several measures, which are positive but of a very limited scope, regarding Cuba associated to the granting of visas, regular migration, flights to Cuban provinces, remittances and adjustments to the regulations governing transactions with the non-state sector," the document said. "However, this is a limited step in the right direction, a response to the denunciations made by the Cuban people and government," the ministry noted.
On Monday, the US Department of State announced the decision to lift restrictions on family remittances and authorize donative remittances to "support independent Cuban entrepreneurs," as well as expand the staff of its embassy in Havana to activate visa issuance and increase the number of flights to Cuba.
According to the statement by US State Department Spokesman Ned Price published on Monday, the US will "facilitate family reunification by reinstating the Cuban Family Reunification Parole (CFRP) Program and continuing to increase capacity for consular services." He added that the US will "encourage commercial opportunities outside of the state sector by authorizing access to expanded cloud technology, application programming interfaces, and e-commerce platforms." "We will explore options to expand support of additional payment options for Internet-based activities, electronic payments, and business with independent Cuban entrepreneurs," the statement said.
According to the spokesman, the US policy "will continue to focus on empowering the Cuban people to help them create a future free from repression and economic suffering." Nevertheless, the official noted that Washington does not intend to remove Cuban companies from the sanctions list.