Deputy Minister Kodzhabashev: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has taken the necessary measures, in coordination with its EU partners, for the safe evacuation of Bulgarian citizens in Sudan
24 April 2023 News
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria has taken the necessary measures and is doing everything possible, in coordination with its EU partners, for the safe evacuation of Bulgarian citizens in Sudan. This was stated by Deputy Minister and Spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Kostadin Kodzhabashev at an extraordinary press briefing. Tanya Dimitrova, Director of the Situation Centre Directorate at the Ministry, also took part in the briefing.
‘The Situation Centre of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Bulgarian Embassy in Cairo are looking for and offering our compatriots various options and routes for evacuation by air and by land,’ said Kostadin Kodzhabashev. Our country does not have a functioning embassy in Khartoum, Republic of Sudan, but a covering embassy in Cairo, Egypt. In its evacuation activities it is also assisted by the Bulgarian representation in Riyadh.
It was stressed that there is constant contact with all Bulgarians around the clock and full information is provided on the available options and the security situation. The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs emphasized that coordination has also been made with our EU partners, as well as through the Situation Centres in non-EU countries, to support the smooth evacuation of our compatriots.
Deputy Minister Kodzhabashev emphasized that 31 Bulgarian citizens have so far expressed their wish to be evacuated from Sudan. According to him, 21 of them have already been evacuated or are in the process of being evacuated from the country, while 10 others are still in Sudan. A crisis headquarters has been formed in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to monitor and support the evacuation of Bulgarian citizens around the clock.
‘Three Bulgarians were evacuated on 21 April in a Saudi Arabia convoy. Two on 22 April and 8 on 23 April left for Egypt. However, one of them refused evacuation and returned to Khartoum,’ said the director of the Situation Centre at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tanya Dimitrova.
It was also noted that a Bulgarian citizen and three of his family members are expected to arrive at the border with Egypt. Seven people left on 23 April for Port Sudan, two of them are already in Berlin and were met by Bulgarian embassy officials on the spot.
According to Tanya Dimitrova, a Bulgarian woman with her three children is also travelling to Khartoum and has to be evacuated by plane, but is likely to return because it has become dangerous on the way. ‘There is also a Bulgarian woman whose husband has not allowed her to evacuate. Another Bulgarian woman and her child, as well as another of our compatriots, have refused evacuation,’ the director of the Situation Centre added.
It was stressed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs continues to monitor the situation and to provide assistance to the Bulgarian citizens in Sudan. ‘Today, Deputy Minister Velislava Petrova is participating in the Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg, where the current situation in Sudan and coordination at the EU level is being discussed, and she will again raise the issue of providing assistance with our partners,’ Kostadin Kodzhabashev further said at the extraordinary media briefing.
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