CRI听力:People in Both Countries Welcome the US-Cuba Normalization

Ospaldo hasn't been able to see his nephew and niece in the U.S. because of the travel restrictions that have been in place for decades.

With many positive acts being put to restore the relationship between the two countries recently, Ospaldo hopes he can have more opportunities to get in touch with his Cuban family members in the United States.

"Geographically, the United States is only 150 kilometers away from us. And almost every Cuban family has at least one family member over there in the U.S. So we hope we can stay together, and communicate. They should give us an opportunity to see how beautiful the U.S. is."

Monday, the Cuban flag will be raised over its mission in Washington for the first time in 54 years. The U.S. embassy in Havana will also reopen, but no American flag will fly at the U.S. embassy in Havana until U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry visits to preside over a ceremony.

Kerry will meet Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, the first Cuban foreign minister to visit Washington in decades.

The two are due to hold discussions covering areas of possible cooperation, such as global health and the Cuban people's expanded "access to telecommunications," as well as points of contention, including Cuba's human rights record and U.S. fugitives sheltering on the island.

The developing normalization began in December and has been accompanied by the easing of U.S. travel restrictions to the island. Preceding the joint historic announcement in December, Cuban-Americans, Church groups and students gained greater access to Cuba, and U.S. airports were allowed to provide more services to the island.

Omar Everleny, an economist at the Centre for Economic Studies in Havana, says the uptick creates an opening for Cuban business.

"Cuba has to get ready. I think that we aren't prepared because tourism has mostly been developed outside of the capital. The statistics show that around 18,000 U.S. tourists come and stay in private homes. That creates a challenge; American tourists prefer to stay in hotels".

Cuban President Raul Castro has said Cuba is ready to peacefully coexist with the United States.

Meanwhile, when Obama is using executive powers to poke holes in trade barriers, Republicans who control Congress have made clear they will not let him entirely dismantle the embargo.

For CRI, I'm Niu Honglin.