The first shipment of medical supplies from China, ordered by the Bulgarian government, arrived at Sofia Airport that night. She was greeted by Health Minister Kiril Ananiev, Chief Commissioner and Director of the Directorate General of Fire Safety and Population Protection Nikolay Nikolov, as well as Ambassadors of the People’s Republic of China Dun Xiaojun and the United States, Hero Mustafa.
The humanitarian mission was carried out after a telephone conversation between the prime ministers of Bulgaria and China – Boyko Borisov and Li Katsyan, on March 18, with the assistance of the governments of both countries and NATO.
On board the aircraft used by Bulgaria under the NATO Strategic Air Partnership Program, 568,000 KN95 masks were loaded on a volume of 166.13 cubic meters purchased from our country.
In addition, with the next flights, the remaining quantities under the three contracts concluded between the Bulgarian state and the Chinese National Pharmaceutical Corporation for Foreign Trade are expected to arrive – 50 respirators, 1,000,000 medical KN95 masks, 608,770 KN95 disposable masks, 171,429 packages of Hydroxychloroquine Sulfate Tablets 100 mg. and 30,000 packs of Azithromycin Dispersible Tablet 250 mg.
On board the aircraft used by Bulgaria under the NATO Strategic Air Partnership Program, there is also a donation from China of medical and protective materials of 50.19 cubic meters, which includes safety masks, gloves and hats.
The crew of the aircraft with which the medical supplies arrived consists of 14 military personnel – six from the US, two from the Netherlands and one each from Sweden, Finland, Poland, Norway, Romania and Bulgaria. The commander of the flight was Captain Jasmina Hristova from the Bulgarian Air Force. She also landed the Globmaster C-17 plane on the runway at Sofia Airport.
The flight was at the expense of Bulgaria’s leisure hours under the Strategic Air Transport Program (SAC). Bulgaria has been using this program for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Strategic Air Transport Program includes 10 NATO allies (Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and the USA) and two Partnership for Peace countries (Finland and Sweden). The SAC is implemented through the jointly acquired C-17 Globmaster aircraft based at Papa Air Force Base in Hungary. Bulgaria has a number of flight hours that are used primarily to transport our contingents participating in overseas missions.
Bulgaria, through our embassy in Beijing, has borne the costs of ground handling and airport charges.
Translation: Diana Todorova
