“Imports of the equipment required for healthcare protection are continuous; the airlift between China and Hungary was also functioning non-stop during the Easter holidays”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said in Parliament.

In his pre-agenda speech, the Minister explained that 26 aeroplanes have arrived in Hungary over the past two weeks carrying a total of 13 million 207 thousand face masks, 6 million 203 thousand pieces of protective clothing, including gloves, hazmat suits and plastic face shields, in addition to 155 thousand test kits and 101 respirators. He highlighted that Hungary has a contract for the procurement of over 148 million 700 thousand face masks, of which 46 million 855 thousand have already arrived, while of the 47 million 754 pieces of protective equipment ordered 20 million 292 thousand have already been received. “Cargo planes will continue to arrive in Budapest this week with more equipment needed to protect against the virus epidemic on board”, he indicated.

“Hungary has come to an agreement with the governments of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan regarding the fact that cargo planes bound for Budapest will be handled and allowed to continue their journeys as rapidly as possible at both Nursultan and Baku airports”, the Minister stated. He also spoke about the fact that many countries have requested assistance from Hungary, and in the spirit of good neighbourly relations assistance has been provided, in the form of face masks and protective clothing, to Serbia, North Macedonia, Slovenia and Croatia. “The better our neighbours can battle the virus, the better our position, too”, Mr. Szijjártó said. “Hungary has also provided assistance to Italy, which is currently in the worst position, with 100 thousand masks and 5 thousand pieces of protective clothing at the request of the Italian government”, he added.

“People living in areas populated by Hungarians across the border are also facing major challenges, and every cross-border Hungarian community has indeed contacted the Hungarian government, and in view of the fact that ‘every Hungarian is responsible for every Hungarian’, shipments began setting out last weekend, and have duly arrived everywhere, with the exception of Transcarpathia (Ukraine). Accordingly, the Hungarian government has sent a total of 710 thousand face masks, 32 thousand pieces of protective clothing and 200 thousand pairs of gloves to Transylvania, Upper Hungary, Vojvodina, Slavonia and the Mura region”, Mr. Szijjártó informed Parliament.

In closing, the Minister said that although it is much shorter that the list of those who have requested assistance from Hungary, there is also a list that bears the names of countries who have provided assistance to the Hungarians. As an example, he said that on Tuesday morning he had held a video conference with the Uzbekistani Deputy Prime Minister, who indicated that a plane bearing 500 thousand face masks as a donation from the Uzbekistani government has already taken off, and will be arriving in Budapest on Tuesday evening via Baku, Azerbaijan.

Mr. Szijjártó said one of the most important tasks is to ensure that doctors, nurses, police officers and military personnel are able to perform their duties while having the best possible supply of protective equipment.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade/MTI)