On Friday the U.N. Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon praised U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuban leader Raul Castro for striving to restore diplomatic relations between their respective nations.

The U.N. chief was present at the Summit of the Americas ‎in Panama City Friday evening, watching as the U.S. and Cuban leaders historically shook hands.

Noting that this was the first time that all 35 nations of the Americas were attending the summit, Ban announced that the region was “overcoming longstanding divisions in historic ways, as we see in this very room.”

The communist island country of Cuba had been excluded from attending the summit for years.

Ban said Raul Castro's presence on Friday evening was fulfilling hopes across the region and noted that the coming together of the two world leaders was in line with the United Nations Charter and its stated goal of “promoting good neighborliness.''

There was a palpable catholic presence at the event.

In a message read by Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, Pope Francis, who hails from Argentina, urged the leaders present to seek common ground in order to solve problems afflicting the region.

Pope Francis said, as reported by The Associated Press, that despite the fact that Latin American nations have in recent years progressed economically, there are still large numbers of people currently living in poverty.

The Pope stressed that reducing the level of inequality will only come about via government action.

In his message the pontiff said he hoped to encourage "mutual cooperation and maximum effort required to overcome differences on the road to the common good."

The Pope and Vatican Secretary of State had both played roles in negotiating the secret talks between Cuba and the United States that resulted in Obama’s December announcement that he would commence opening ties with Cuba.