Cuba's potential reintegration to the Organization of American States (OAS) should be discussed without fear, the body's Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza said in his opening speech to the 39th OAS' General Assembly on Tuesday in the Honduran city of San Pedro Sula.
Insulza called on members to tackle the topic with a willingness to reach consensus and avoiding the trap of divisiveness.
Cuba remains a member of the 35-nation international body, but its government has been excluded since 1962, three years after the island nation's revolution.
All OAS members apart from the United States now recognize the post-revolutionary government, and most seek the nation's return.
He added that the 34 Foreign Ministers meeting in Honduran industrial city San Petro Sula are willing to make progress on the topic and "leave behind a past which is not positive according to many."
Insulza added that the Americas have a common agenda in a way that has never been seen before, following the achievements of the Summit of the Americas at Caribbean nation Trinidad and Tobago. That is why the Honduras meeting is an opportunity for fruitful dialog with divisions, discrepancies or prejudice.