(Corrects to "she" from "he" in 3rd paragraph)

HAVANA, March 20 (Reuters) - Cuba's convalescing leader, Fidel Castro, is recovering well from his July surgery and could soon take a more active role in running the country, a government minister said on Tuesday.

"We think that, as has been said, our leader is recovering, is advancing in the process of recovery, and I would say that he is already within the leadership from the point of view that he is sharing in the country's principal political and economic decisions," Yadira Garcia said.

"The expectation we all have is that, yes, we will soon have him with us in a more active way," she told a news conference at an oil and geology event.

Garcia, the minister in charge of Cuba's oil, energy and nickel industries, was the latest in a series of government officials to indicate that 80-year-old Castro's health is improving enough for him to take part in government decisions.

Castro, the last key Cold War player to defy the United States, handed power to his brother Raul Castro almost eight months ago and has recently been heard speaking on the telephone with Venezuelan ally Hugo Chavez, but he has yet to make a reappearance in public.

Castro stepped down on July 31 after undergoing emergency intestinal surgery. He is thought to have suffered from diverticulitis, or inflamed bulges in the large intestine, though his exact condition is a state secret in Cuba.

Bolivian President Evo Morales said at the weekend he was hopeful Castro would make a public appearance at an April 28 meeting in Havana of a trade pact known as the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas.

Media reports this month that Castro is eating well and taking long walks have fanned speculation that the iconic revolutionary could use the April 28 meeting of half a dozen regional presidents to address his nation live.

The trade pact, known as ALBA, between Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua aims to rival U.S.-sponsored free-trade agreements, stressing solidarity and cooperation above profit-seeking economic activities.

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