Image copyright Reuters Image caption Many Cubans hope their country will benefit from more foreign investment

Cuba has welcomed as "fair" a US decision to remove it from a list of state sponsors of terrorism, saying it should never have been on the list in the first place.

The move comes amid a normalisation of ties between the US and Cuba.

The Caribbean country's presence on the list alongside Syria, Iran and Sudan was a sticking point for Cuba during talks to reopen embassies.

A US trade embargo against Cuba remains and can only be ended by Congress.

Mr Obama met Cuban President Raul Castro at the Summit of the Americas in Panama last week, four months after he announced a historic thaw in ties with the communist island nation.

The US president said on Tuesday that the government of Cuba had "not provided any support for international terrorism" over the past six months.

Handshakes and optimism in Panama City

Image copyright AFP Image caption Presidents Castro and Obama exchanged handshakes at the Americas summit in Panama

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Images of Cuba's communist leaders can be found everywhere in Havana

He added that it had "provided assurances that it will not support acts of international terrorism in the future".

A statement from Josefina Vidal, Cuba's top diplomat responsible for dealing with the US, said: "The Cuban government recognised the fair decision made by the president of the United States to eliminate Cuba from a list that it never should have been included on, especially considering our country has been the victim of hundreds of acts of terrorism that have cost 3,478 lives and maimed 2,099 citizens."

Analysis - Thomas Sparrow, BBC Mundo, Washington

This decision is the most concrete step to date taken by the US government to try to dismantle the structures that prevented a normal relationship between both countries for decades.

And it carries a lot of weight too, because it officially changes the way the US government has viewed Cuba since 1982.

The White House now believes Cuba does not support rebel groups such as Farc or ETA and - more importantly - it thinks the government will not do so in the future.

This is a significant message of confidence by the Obama administration towards the Cuban government.