On January 9, Serbian Minister of Health Zlatibor Lončar donated 10,000 AstraZeneca vaccines to representatives of the Canton of Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This was the latest vaccine donation by Serbia to its neighbors in the Balkans. In the course of the covid-19 pandemic, many great powers tried to increase their soft power credentials and prestige through vaccine supplies. Among them have been the likes of China, Russia, and India. While Serbia is not a global great power, it is the most strategically consequential country in the Balkans and exercises its own vaccine diplomacy. By donating vaccines to its neighbors, Serbia gains political prestige and asserts regional leadership.
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