Soldiers unload Chinese medical supplies at Skopje International Airport in Skopje, North Macedonia, April 18, 2020. A plane loaded with Chinese medical supplies to help North Macedonia fight against COVID-19 arrived here on Saturday. (Chinese Embassy in North Macedonia/Handout via Xinhua)
SKOPJE, April 19 (Xinhua) -- A batch of medical supplies provided by the Chinese government to help North Macedonia battle the coronavirus was handed over to the European country soon after its arrival at Skopje International Airport on Saturday.
Chinese Ambassador to North Macedonia Zhang Zuo and Deputy Prime Minister of North Macedonia Bujar Osmani, who is under self-isolation, spoke at a handover ceremony via video link.
Zhang said that China will bear in mind that North Macedonia's leaders and friends from all walks of life have expressed their solidarity with the Chinese government and people when China was at a critical moment in its fight against the coronavirus.
As North Macedonia currently faces the challenge of the pandemic, China in return offered medical supplies in response to the urgent request of North Macedonia, he added.
The ambassador noted that since the outbreak of the pandemic, China has maintained close communication and cooperation with North Macedonia, sharing experiences and providing assistance as possible as it can.
He said that China is willing to explore flexible and diverse ways of fighting the coronavirus with North Macedonia and promote mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries.
For his part, Osmani expressed his gratitude to China for providing medical supplies at the most critical moment in North Macedonia's battle against the coronavirus, adding that the fight against the pandemic requires solidarity, cooperation and mutual assistance of all countries and ethnic groups.
He said that North Macedonia hopes to borrow China's experiences in coronavirus fight and win the war at the earliest.
There are a total of 1,207 confirmed coronavirus cases in North Macedonia, of which 179 are recoveries and 51, fatalities, according to the latest figures from the country's health ministry.
