WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States and Cuba  have agreed to resume direct talks on migration, last held in  2003, and open discussions on establishing direct mail service  between the two countries, a U.S. official said yesterday.

Cuba presented a diplomatic note to US officials on  Saturday agreeing to a US request made last week to resume  the migration talks, which President George W. Bush suspended.

It was a clear sign of movement in President Barack Obama’s  effort to establish a more cooperative relationship with Cuba,  a former Cold War enemy.

The communist nation also presented a note agreeing to a  US request proposing talks about direct mail service, which  has been suspended for decades.

“The two notes are a very positive step forward,” the US  official said. “Our goal has always been safe, orderly  migration out of Cuba … It’s in our interest to resume these  talks.” The official said the Cubans also indicated an interest in  holding talks on counter-narcotics, counter-terrorism and  hurricane disaster responses — areas where the two countries  have had sporadic cooperation in the decades since the US  broke off diplomatic ties and imposed an embargo.

The word came as US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton  began a three-day trip to Latin America that will include a  meeting of the Organization of American States, where a  majority of Latin American members are expected to support  Cuba’s re-entry to the hemispheric group.

The OAS suspended Cuba in 1962 after Fidel Castro’s  revolution steered the island toward communism and a close  alliance with the Soviet Union.