U.S. President Barack Obama said here Friday that he seeks “a new beginning” in relationship with Cuba and pledged to launch new chapter with the Latin America as a whole.

U.S. President Barack Obama addresses the opening ceremony of the Fifth Summit of Americas in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, April 17, 2009.(Xinhua/David de la Paz)

“I have already changed a Cuba policy that has failed to advance liberty or opportunity for the Cuban people. We will now allow Cuban Americans to visit the island whenever they choose and to provide resources to their families — the same way that so many people in my country send money back to their families in your countries to help them pay for their everyday needs,” he said.

“Over the past two years, I have indicated — and I repeat today — that I am prepared to have my administration engage with the Cuban government on a wide range of issues — from human rights, free speech, and democratic reform to drugs, migration, and economic issues,” said Obama.

“Let me be clear: I am not interested in talking for the sake of talking. But I do believe that we can move U.S.-Cuban relations in a new direction,” said the president.

Obama also pledged to move toward a new sense of partnership with the rest of the West Hemisphere. “All of us must now renew the common stake that we have in one another. I know that promises of partnership have gone unfulfilled in the past, and that trust must be earned over time. While the United States has done much on behalf of peace and prosperity in the hemisphere, we have at times been disengaged or sought to dictate our terms. But I pledge to you that we seek an equal partnership,” he said.

“There is no senior partner and junior partner in our relations; there is simply engagement based upon mutual respect, common interests, and shared values. So I am here to launch a new chapter of engagement that will be sustained throughout my Administration,” said Obama.

The U.S. president arrived here in the afternoon and was greeted by Paula Goppe-Scoon, Trinidad and Tobago’s foreign minister at the airport of Port of Spain. As his motorcade drove to the Hyatt Regency, the summit’s site, groups of people stood along the road watching and waving to him.

Obama will meet with Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Patrick Manning and then hold a meeting with a group of Caribbean country leaders.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet