Governor Andrew Cuomo is back in New York after a two-day trip to Cuba. He flew back from Havana Tuesday, along with New York politicians and business leaders he traveled with. Zack Fink filed the following report.

HAVANA - As the United States and Cuba begin the delicate process of normalizing diplomatic relations, Governor Andrew Cuomo made the case that now is the best time for New York companies to get in on the ground floor.

"There is no doubt that change is in the air and that this is an exciting time to be in Cuba," the governor said.

Although opening up the Cuban economy will take time and approval from Congress, members of the delegation called these initial meetings productive. 

"Business takes some time, and it starts with good relationships and good communication," said Howard Zemsky of Empire State Development.

On Tuesday morning, Cuomo visited the storied Mariel Port. In the 1960s, Soviet missiles were brought through this port, giving rise to Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Then, in 1980, more than 100,000 Cubans were permitted to leave the Communist island in what came to be known as the Mariel boat lift. The port is currently being expanded with a $900 million investment. 

The port is only operating at one-third of capacity, and the problem, according to the Cuban government, is that the U.S. trade embargo prevents ships that dock here from going to the United States for 180 days. The result is that the cargo ships often skip the port altogether.

But even with the embargo, the New York delegation came away with some announcements, including a new partnership between the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo and the Center for Immunology in Havana to fight lung cancer.

"The business people who we brought with us had a very busy day and a half, but also a very productive day and a half," Cuomo said.

Cuomo emphasized repeatedly during this trip that 50 years of isolation for Cuba hasn't worked. He said engagement is the far better policy, and he promised to be strong advocate for lifting the embargo, which would take an act of Congress.