HAVANA, Cuba (AFP) — Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel on Friday announced greater freedoms for small businesses across the country, as the communist government takes steps to liberalise the island’s economy in the face of a crippling United States (US) blockade.

In a speech broadcast on national television, Diaz-Canel said Cuba would open more sectors to private businesses and streamline the approval process for new ventures.

“For non-state forms of management, the list of prohibited activities will be limited so that their scope of operations is as broad as possible,” the president said. “A process is underway… to approve all pending applications in the shortest time possible.”