Bulgaria’s Interior Minister Meets with Senior US Law Enforcement Officials in Washington

Rumyana Bachvarova, Bulgaria’s Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister, photo by BGNES

On the first day of the visit to the US, Rumyana Bachvarova, Bulgaria’s Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister, and senior representatives of US law enforcement authorities signed an agreement in the sphere of border security.

Bachvarova’s agenda included meetings with Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, and Gregory Starr, Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security.

According to the press office of Bulgaria’s Interior Ministry, the senior US law enforcement officials agreed that Bulgaria was a reliable strategic partner of the US in that sphere.

The agenda of the meetings included discussions on the cooperation of the law enforcement authorities of Bulgaria and the US in the spheres of fight against terrorism, border security, cyber crime and cyber security.

Bachvarova emphasized that although Bulgaria was not a Schengen Area Member State, it observed the highest standards of border security as regards guarding the EU external border.

Bulgaria’s Interior Minister insisted that the country acted as a fully-fledged member of the Schengen zone.

During the meetings, an agreement in the sphere of border security was signed between Bulgaria and the US.

The agreement is to contribute to the establishment of common security standards and the application of UN Security Council Resolution 2178 (2014) on foreign terrorist fighters.

Bachvarova thanked the US officials for the recognition of Bulgaria’s achievements in the sphere of law enforcement, adding that the fight against corruption remained a sphere plagued by weaknesses.

She pointed out that Bulgaria was working on important legislative changes to remedy the weak points.

Bachvarova clarified that the priority task in her work was to increase the trust of Bulgarians in police and the other law enforcement units.

She noted that achieving greater transparency was the key to restoring public trust.

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