It was history in the making as the MIAT Mongolian Airlines plane touched down early Sunday morning at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. This was the first-ever direct flight to the United States with a special delivery of personal protective equipment.

“It’s doubly important that this flight carries 60,000 PPE donated by the government of Mongolia to the people of the government of the United States in its fight against the COVID,” said Yo.Otgonbayar, Mongolia’s ambassador to the U.S.

Yo.Otgonbayar, along with a slew of other dignitaries, traveled from Washington, D.C., to be on the tarmac with Michael O’Hare, Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Region 10 administrator.

The donation is a sign of the strategic partnership between the two countries. On June 1, the Mongolian Cabinet decided to provide humanitarian assistance to the U.S. worth USD 1 million.

O’Hare said the gowns will be delivered to the Navajo tribe in Arizona and Nevada.