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The US State Department has recommended that Cuba be removed from its list of states said to sponsor terrorism, a leading member of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee says, the BBC reported.

Senator Ben Cardin called the move "an important step."

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez have held talks in Panama.

The discussions were the highest level meeting between the two nations in more than half a century.

The US State Department tweeted a photo of the two men shaking hands on the sidelines of the 35-nation Summit of the Americas.

US President Barack Obama is also expected to meet Cuban leader Raul Castro at the summit - the first time the two will meet formally.

Cuba is one of four countries still on the US list of countries accused of repeatedly supporting global terrorism; Iran, Sudan and Syria are others.

Cuba was first put on the list in 1982 for offering sanctuary to militant ETA Basque separatists and Colombian Farc rebels.

"The State Department's recommendation to remove Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism, the result of a months-long technical review, is an important step forward in our efforts to forge a more fruitful relationship with Cuba," Senator Cardin said.