President Obama's trip to Cuba this week good for Tampa Bay

President Barack Obama's trip to Cuba this weekend marks a promising new era for the two nations and for Tampa Bay. While a half-century of mistrust and isolation between the two will not disappear overnight, Obama has rightfully moved to improve the relationship, which will boost regional growth and security. And the bay area -- with its airports, seaports and significant Cuban-American population -- also stands to benefit as the president sets the table for his successor to build on the diplomatic opening.

Obama arrives Sunday for a three-day stay, the first visit of a sitting U.S. president in nearly 90 years. He will meet with Cuban President Raul Castro, business leaders and Cuban dissidents, and deliver what aides said will be a historic speech outlining a course for improving relations. The president will also attend a baseball game Tuesday between the Tampa Bay Rays and Cuba's national team. The White House said Obama will not meet with former Cuban President Fidel Castro.

The trip caps a series of steps Obama has taken throughout his presidency to put U.S.-Cuban relations on better ground. Days ago, the administration unveiled new rules to liberalize trade and travel to Cuba, allowing direct person-to-person educational trips and authorizing U.S. banks to process checks, accounts and other financial transactions for Cuban nationals. The moves will help more Americans visit Cuba and make it easier for Cuban-Americans to send money to the island. The president's visit will also raise the profile of the newly reopened U.S. Embassy, giving American diplomats there an important show of confidence as they seek to establish political ties broken by the trade embargo 55 years ago.

The visit is symbolic, as Obama looks to use the trip -- as the White House said Wednesday -- to make this change in direction "irreversible." By mixing politics, trade and sports, the president is moving to restore ties across a broad, societal front. While only Congress can end the embargo, the president is wisely using his authority to push the needle and to expand America's influence on the island as Cuba moves toward its own political transition.

U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa, will join the president on his trip. St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman will be in Cuba for the Rays games along with business and civic leaders, reflecting the stakes to the bay area in improving ties. Castor, who represents a large Cuban-American constituency, worked hard to restore direct flights between Tampa and Cuba; the federal government is now considering bids to allow commercial flights to Cuba from Tampa International Airport. Kriseman and others are working to bring a Cuban consulate to the bay area.

Dissidents, moderates within the political system and Cuba's emerging entrepreneurs all need the encouragement and support that comes from having normal working contact with the world's leading democracy. Obama's trip should help inspire this budding relationship and strengthen ties between Cuba and its Florida neighbors 90 miles to the north.

This story was originally published March 20, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "President Obama's trip to Cuba this week good for Tampa Bay ."