Havana  - Presidents Raul Castro of Cuba and Rafael Correa of Ecuador met Thursday in Havana to start a three-day official visit to the communist island by the left-wing populist Correa.

During the visit, Correa told reporters that he hopes Barack Obama - set to be inaugurated on January 20 as US president - will move toward change in Washington's "absurd foreign policy," citing Cuba and the Middle East as examples.

Correa termed the US embargo on Cuba - which has lasted more than 40 years - as "unsustainable, unjustifiable and intolerable."

"In other aspects (US foreign policy) is quite absurd, too. It just takes looking at the absence of condemnation (from Washington) of Israel's aggression against Gaza," he said of the ongoing Israeli military operation, which has claimed hundreds of lives.

Correa arrived late Wednesday in Havana. On Thursday he placed a wreath at the memorial of Cuban independence hero Jose Marti and met with Raul Castro at the seat of the Cuban government.

"We are honoured to step on this land that is full of solidarity, of Latin American sentiment, of dignity," Correa said.

Later Thursday, he was set to take part in an event in Havana to mark the 50th anniversary of Fidel Castro's arrival in Havana in 1959, seven days after he proclaimed his revolution's triumph over dictator Fulgencio Batista in the south-eastern city of Santiago de Cuba.

As has repeatedly been the case since Fidel Castro "temporarily" gave up power to his younger brother Raul in July 2006 - a move that became permanent in February
2008 - the elder Castro's presence at the event remained uncertain. Fidel Castro, 82, has not been seen in public since mid-2006, and he missed events last week in Santiago.

It was not known whether Correa would meet with Fidel during his stay in Havana.

The Ecuadorian president is the second Latin American leader to visit Cuba this week, after Panamanian President Martin Torrijos. Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner is expected in Havana at the weekend, and Chilean President Michelle Bachelet is to visit the island next month. (dpa)