CUBAN DIPLOMACY STRATEGY IN THE PANDEMIC ERA
The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has become a momentum for countries to use diplomacy. Each country pursues a different model of diplomacy during the COVID-19 Pandemic. For example, China uses mask diplomacy meanwhile other countries such as England and the US use vaccine diplomacy. While developed countries use that diplomacy to achieve their goals, developing countries have difficulty performing this kind of diplomacy. The COVID-19 pandemic also become a challenge for developing countries that use health-based diplomacy as their foreign policy, especially Cuba. Cuba faces a large number of COVID-19 patients and economic stagnation due to the US economic embargo. The US also tighten its economic embargo on Cuba while Cuba struggles to develop its tourism sector during the COVID-19 pandemic. This article discusses the Cuban diplomacy strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic when facing US economic embargo pressure. The study argues that Cuba has two health-based strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cuban diplomacy strategy consists of sending medical personnel and medicine abroad as a tool to open cooperation with other countries and developing home-grown COVID-19 vaccines then selling COVID-19 vaccines, including looking for investors to develop Cuba's biotechnology.
Cuban Diplomacy Strategy, Cuban Health Diplomacy, COVID-19 Pandemic