Cigar diplomacy

Cigar diplomacy describes the practice of Cuban diplomats to gifting high-quality Cuban cigars as a symbol of national pride and a way to foster goodwill. For instance, Fidel Castro, the former leader of Cuba, was known to gift Cuban cigars to foreign dignitaries and visitors.

Cigar diplomacy is also used to describe the warming-up in relations between the USA and Cuba. The partial lifting of the embargo by the Obama administration in 2016, which allowed Americans to bring limited quantities of cigars back from Cuba, was a significant step in thawing U.S.-Cuba relations.