Paper/Speech Details of Conference Program for the 2020 NISPAcee On-line Conference for PhD students Program Overview The 2020 NISPAcee On-line Conference for PhD students Author(s) Viona Rashica South East European University Tetovo Republic of North Macedonia Title Impact of the coronavirus pandemic in the realization of bilateral and multilateral diplomatic meetings File Paper files are available only for conference participants, please login first. Presenter Viona Rashica Abstract The COVID-19 disease is an infectious disease caused by a new strain of coronavirus, which on 11 March was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization, thus becoming a global issue with serious consequences in many aspects. Coronavirus is indiscriminate in who it infects regardless of being rich or poor, and it is equitable between disadvantaged or privileged members of societies. Although a lot of meetings, conferences, and other major events were cancelled because of coronavirus, diplomacy cannot be cancelled because international cooperation in various fields during this pandemic is more than necessary. Therefore, many states and international organizations are hosting their meetings online and are moving from conference rooms to online spaces offered by various digital platforms. The main purpose of this paper is to explain the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the realization of various diplomatic meetings, whether bilateral or multilateral, as well as its consequences on their effectiveness. For the realization of the research qualitative methods were used, based on bibliography and on the credible Internet sources which contain valuable information about the virtual realization of the most important diplomatic meetings. Results of the research show that coronavirus has been a key catalyst for the digitalization of diplomacy because the traditional work of world leaders and diplomats has stopped abruptly as a result of travel restrictions, border closures and shelter-in-place orders. The conclusions of this paper aim to contribute to increasing knowledge about the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in traditional diplomacy. Key words: coronavirus, pandemic, impact, diplomatic meetings
