Help Wanted: Cuba's government turns to growing diaspora for investment

FILE PHOTO: A Cuban flag waves in a boat docked at Bayfront Park is seen before sailing in a flotilla towards Cuba in support of Cuban protesters against its deteriorating economy, in Miami, Florida, U.S. July 23, 2021. REUTERS/Marco Bello/File Photo

HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuba wants to tap its fast-growing overseas population for fresh investment to lift its sinking economy, a top foreign ministry official told Reuters this week, as the communist-run nation looks to overcome its worst downturn in decades.

Food, fuel and medicine shortages have pushed a record number of Cubans to leave their Caribbean island home in the past two years, sapping the nation of resources necessary to jump-start an economy already shackled by the pandemic and stiffened U.S. sanctions.