World

NY Gov. Cuomo meets with top officials in Havana to promote state's business post-detente

Associated Press
Published | Updated

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo answers a journalist's questions as he arrives to Jose Marti airport in Havana, Cuba, Monday, April 20, 2015. Cuomo is the first U.S. governor to visit Cuba since the Dec. 17 declaration of detente. (AP Photo/Desmond Boylan) (The Associated Press)

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, right, walks with Cuba's Josefina Vidal, director general of the U.S. division at Cuba's Foreign Ministry, as he arrives to the Jose Marti airport in Havana, Cuba, Monday, April 20, 2015. Cuomo is the first U.S. governor to visit Cuba since the Dec. 17 declaration of detente. (AP Photo/Desmond Boylan) (The Associated Press)

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo prepares to board a bus provided for his delegation after arriving to Jose Marti airport in Havana, Cuba, Monday, April 20, 2015. Cuomo is the first U.S. governor to visit Cuba since the Dec. 17 declaration of detente. (AP Photo/Desmond Boylan) (The Associated Press)

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has met with Cuba's top officials for U.S. affairs at the start of a trip that makes him the first American governor to visit Cuba since the recent thaw in relations with the communist nation.

Cuomo arrived in Havana Monday and traveled to the Hotel Nacional, where he met with Josefina Vidal, Cuba's top negotiator in meetings over re-establishing diplomatic ties. He had meetings planned with officials from the Cuban government and Catholic Church.

The formal state visit on Monday and Tuesday is meant to foster greater ties between New York and Cuba. Cuomo is traveling with lawmakers and business leaders for what he has called "a tremendous stepping stone" that will "help open the door to a new market for New York businesses."