法國總統奧朗德訪問古巴

French President Francois Hollande arrived in Cuba late Sunday night, becoming the first French head of state to visit the communist nation.

"Ladies and gentleman, I arrive here in Cuba this evening with a lot of excitement as this is the first time the president of the Republic of France is visiting Cuba. It's also symbolic to be the first western president to participate in the opening of Cuba to the world."

Mr. Hollande plans to meet with Cuban President Raul Castro Monday upon the Cuban leader's return from Italy, which included a visit with Pope Francis at the Vatican.

Mr. Hollande is the first Western leader to visit Cuba since Mr. Castro and U.S. President Barack Obama announced last December that they would seek to end more than five decades of Cold War-related bitterness.

But, unlike the U.S. trade embargo with Cuba, Paris and Havana have long-established financial ties, with two-way trade worth nearly $400 million.

Mr. Hollande's stopover in Cuba is the last stop on a five-nation tour of the Caribbean.法國總統奧朗德星期日晚間抵達古巴，成爲第一位訪問這個共產黨國家的法國國家元首。

奧朗德在哈瓦那何塞·馬蒂國際機場受到古巴副外長羅傑里奧·西埃拉和其他古巴高級官員的迎接。他說：“女士們，先生們，我今晚來到古巴，心情非常激動。具有象徵意義的是，我是西方國家第一位參加古巴對世界開放的總統。”

奧朗德計劃星期一會見古巴主席勞爾·卡斯特羅。卡斯特羅剛從意大利返回古巴，他出訪期間在梵蒂岡拜會了教宗方濟各。

自卡斯特羅和美國總統奧巴馬去年12月宣佈將尋求結束兩國之間50多年來的緊張關係以來，奧朗德是第一位訪問古巴的西方國家領導人。

美國對古巴實行貿易禁運，而巴黎和哈瓦那則保持着長期的經濟關係，雙邊貿易額將近四億美元。

古巴是奧朗德此次加勒比五國之行的最後一站。