Obama, Trinidad PM discuss Americas summit

US President Barack Obama on Thursday discussed an upcoming Americas summit with the gathering's host, Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Patrick Manning, said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs.

"The president looks forward to participating in the Summit and discussed with the prime minister a shared desire to focus the Summit on addressing the common challenges facing the people of the Americas," said Gibbs.

"The president is committed to building strong and productive partnerships in the hemisphere and believes the summit represents an important step toward achieving this objective. He looks forward to meeting Prime Minister Manning and to working with him to advance our shared goals," he added.

Manning said last month that the April 17-19 summit would likely focus on Cuba, the only state in the region to be excluded, amid support from almost all Latin American and Caribbean governments for ending the five-decade US embargo on the communist island.

And there is a growing movement in the United States, notably in the US Congress, for easing restrictions on travel and trade with Cuba.