The medical mission is organised and funded by the Bulgarian government through its Foreign Ministry, with additional financial support from the Bulgarian Memory Foundation, which is the main organiser in cooperation with the Bulgarian-Albanian Friendship Association in Korçë.

The initiative is being carried out in coordination with Albania’s Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and Bulgaria’s Ministry of Defence.

The official opening ceremony was held on Friday outside the Pustec Health Centre, attended by Bulgarian Ambassador to Albania Ivaylo Kirov, Bulgarian Memory Foundation Chairman Dr. Milen Vrabevski, Korçë Local Health Care Unit Director Mikel Llogori, Pustec Mayor Pali Kolefski, Bulgarian-Albanian Friendship Association Chairman Dimitri Nikola and members of the Bulgarian parliament.

“For the fourth consecutive year, a good initiative in Pustec is becoming an established tradition. The most important result is concrete: residents of the region can receive free consultations from leading Bulgarian specialists. This creates opportunities for prevention and early diagnosis and provides practical care for people, rather than being merely a symbolic gesture,” Kirov said at the opening.

He said the initiative demonstrated how institutions, doctors and civil society organisations could work together to deliver tangible benefits to local communities.

This year’s mission also includes medical specialists from Korçë Regional Hospital, creating opportunities for professional cooperation and the exchange of expertise and knowledge between Bulgarian and Albanian medical teams.

The cooperation is also intended to improve patient follow-up and, where necessary, refer patients to relevant specialists and healthcare institutions in Albania.

“The participation of Albanian doctors is a natural and very positive step. It gives the initiative an even stronger bilateral character and demonstrates a shared responsibility for people’s health. Bulgaria and Albania are friends and allies, and the most convincing evidence of this friendship is precisely such joint activities that directly serve citizens,” Kirov said.

The first phase of the mission runs from Sept. 11-13 and offers free examinations in cardiology, vascular surgery, rheumatology, endocrinology and neurology. The first medical team is led by Bulgarian cardiologist Prof. Ivo Petrov and includes specialists from university medical centres and major hospitals in Bulgaria.

The second phase, scheduled for Sept. 25-27, will significantly expand the range of services to include mammography screening, urology, otorhinolaryngology, pulmonology, gastroenterology and orthopaedics.

Vrabevski said the examinations were available to all residents of Pustec municipality, describing the initiative as an example of European solidarity in practice through direct care for people.

The Bulgarian medical mission aims not only to provide free preventive and specialised examinations but also to strengthen long-term cooperation between healthcare specialists and institutions in the two countries.

“Mala Prespa and the Bulgarian community in Albania are a natural bridge between the two countries. Our aim is for this area to receive greater attention, more contacts and more opportunities. The medical mission is open to local residents and should not be politicised – its essence is solidarity, prevention and human care,” Kirov said.

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