IN A HISTORIC visit, US President Barack Obama has met with President Raúl Castro in Cuba today.

The three-day visit to the island marks the first US presidential visit to Cuba in nearly 90 years.

Obama and Castro met in Havana’s Palace of the Revolution for groundbreaking talks on ending the standoff between the two neighbors.

For Obama, the diplomatic opening is a centrepiece of his foreign policy legacy and the fulfillment of his pledge to engage directly with longtime American enemies.

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Obama was greeted by a military band at the Palace of the Revolution, a building put up after the 1959 revolution that turned Cuba into a communist state. He then sat for discussions with Castro in front of a backdrop of tall tropical plants and the two countries’ flags.

The United States has yet to lift its decades-old economic embargo on Havana.

But despite these differences, Obama and Castro say they are ready to bury their Cold War-era conflict and work toward a complete opening of relations.

Obama paid homage to Cuban independence hero Jose Marti, laying a wreath and signing a memorial book at the foot of a statue in the heart of Havana’s government district. 

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The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba played the Star-Spangled Banner, with images of the event broadcast on Cuban television.

Marti was a leading figure in Cuba’s battle for independence from Spain.

A Cuban man wearing an American flag applauds as President Barack Obama's convoy passes by along the Malecon into Old Havana, Cuba. AP / Press Association Images AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images

Secretary of State John Kerry said the Obama visit was “a historic moment,” adding that it was “pretty remarkable to hear the anthems here, side by side, in Havana with the president of the United States”.

After signing the memorial book Obama walked across Revolution Square under the gaze of a mural of revolutionary icon Che Guevara to a meeting with Cuban President Raul Castro.

Obama is travelling with the first lady Michelle Obama, her mother and their daughters, Sasha and Malia.