Cuba's Communist government has approved a package of 176 economic reforms aimed at attracting foreign investment and revitalizing the island's struggling economy, marking one of the most significant shifts in economic policy since the 1959 revolution.

The measures, approved during a session of the Cuban National Assembly on Thursday, will reduce state involvement in several sectors of the economy and ease restrictions on private and foreign businesses, according to officials.

Prime Minister Manuel Marrero said the reforms were designed to boost economic activity, increase productivity and address chronic shortages that have fueled public frustration across the Caribbean nation.

Among the most notable changes, foreign investors will no longer be required to establish joint ventures with the Cuban state in certain sectors. The new framework will allow overseas firms to acquire stakes in enterprises that were previously under exclusive state control, opening new opportunities for private capital.

The reforms also seek to expand the role of market mechanisms in the economy while preserving the country's socialist political system, Cuban leaders said.

President Miguel Díaz-Canel described the package as necessary to confront mounting economic challenges but insisted that the government would not abandon its ideological foundations.

"Socialism or death," Díaz-Canel told lawmakers after the reforms were adopted in a unanimous vote.

The move comes as Cuba faces one of its worst economic crises in decades. The island has been grappling with high inflation, food and fuel shortages, frequent power outages and declining industrial output, while U.S. sanctions continue to limit access to international financing and trade.

Relations between Havana and Washington have remained strained for more than six decades following the rise of Cuba's communist government in 1959. Successive U.S. administrations have maintained various economic restrictions on the island, arguing that they are intended to pressure the government on human rights and democratic reforms.

Analysts say the latest reforms reflect growing recognition within Cuba's leadership that structural economic changes are needed to prevent further deterioration of living standards and encourage investment.

The policy shift also comes amid broader geopolitical changes in Latin America. Cuba has historically relied on support from allied governments, particularly Venezuela, for energy supplies and economic cooperation. Any disruption to those relationships has the potential to place additional pressure on the Cuban economy.

Despite embracing a greater role for private capital, Cuban officials have maintained that the reforms are intended to modernize socialism rather than replace it, seeking to balance economic liberalization with continued state oversight of key sectors.

The package represents one of the most ambitious attempts by Cuba's leadership to stabilize the economy while preserving the country's long-standing political system.