Bulgaria Tops List for Evacuations from Middle East Conflict Zone, Caretaker PM Says

Veneta Litkova, Sofia Gospodinova

Caretaker Prime Minister Andrey Gurov speaks at the Foreign Ministry ceremony, Sofia, March 13, 2026 (BTA Photo/Blagoy Kirilov)

Sofia,

13.03.2026 12:32

(BTA)

Bulgaria ranks first in the number of people evacuated from the conflict zone in the Middle East, caretaker Prime Minister Andrey Gurov said on Friday at a ceremony honouring Foreign Ministry officials for their contribution to the successful evacuation of Bulgarian citizens from the Middle East.

The Council of Ministers said in a press release later that Bulgaria topped the list with the number of people it has evacuated from the United Arab Emirates.

Gurov said the event recognized the professionalism, sense of duty and dedication of the diplomats involved. According to him, the work of the Situation Centre in recent weeks will remain in the history of Bulgarian diplomacy.

The Prime Minister described the evacuation as an unprecedented operation in terms of complexity and scale. More than 2,600 Bulgarian citizens were evacuated from the conflict zone within a short period under extremely difficult conditions, by air and land and across several borders, amid constantly changing risks.

He noted that Bulgaria is among the countries with the highest number of organized evacuation flights, adding that the success of the operation was due to the efforts of Foreign Ministry staff who worked for days without returning home to ensure the safe return of Bulgarian citizens.

/RY/MR/