Bulgaria, U.S. agree to enhance counter-terrorism cooperation

Bulgarian Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov and visiting U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken here on Saturday agreed to enhance the bilateral cooperation in areas such as the counter-terrorism field.

According to a joint statement issued after the talks, the two officials reaffirmed the strong commitment of Bulgaria and the United States to bilateral partnership and friendship in security and defense, counter-terrorism, energy security, the rule of law, education and people-to-people ties.

Future priorities of the cooperation, particularly in the field of counter-terrorism, would include the development of strategic planning documents, and improving information exchange and coordination among Bulgarian agencies in response to active threats, the statement said.

The United States would also help enhance Bulgaria's access to additional screening tools for persons traveling across Bulgarian borders, and specialized training on techniques for interviewing terrorists and following terrorists' use of the Internet and social media, the statement said.

According to the statement, the training provided by the U.S. side for border police and fraudulent document experts has boosted Bulgaria's capacity to screen and detect foreign terrorist fighters(FTFs).

"We plan further U.S.-Bulgarian information sharing to enhance screening, detection of potential threats, and capacity of judicial authorities implementing new counter-FTF legislation," it said. Endit