For Immediate Release
DHS Press Office
Contact: 202-282-8010
SOFIA, Bulgaria—Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, Under Secretary for the National Protection and Programs Directorate Rand Beers and Assistant Secretary for International Affairs Alan Bersin today met with President Rosen Plevneliev and Prime Minister Boyko Borisov in Bulgaria to discuss the Department’s collaboration with Bulgarian partners on information sharing, law enforcement, cybersecurity, counterterrorism, and border security. Secretary Napolitano also signed an Agreement on Preventing and Combating Serious Crime with Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov.
“Today’s agreement reaffirms our commitment to working with Bulgaria to combat terrorism and transnational crime,” said Secretary Napolitano. “By enhancing information sharing, it will allow law enforcement officials to more quickly and efficiently investigate crimes and prevent the entry of criminals into our countries.”
This Agreement provides the basis for the exchange of data between the United States and Bulgaria regarding suspected criminals and terrorists. It will bolster counterterrorism and law enforcement cooperation efforts, while protecting individual privacy.
During her meetings, Secretary Napolitano encouraged continued progress on rule of law reforms and also highlighted collaboration between the United States and Bulgaria on cybersecurity, and science and technology. In 2011, DHS participated in the Cyber Atlantic tabletop exercise, a U.S.–EU effort to enhance international collaboration of incident management and response, which is part of the ongoing U.S.–EU partnership to address shared threats to global networks.
While in Bulgaria, Secretary Napolitano, Under Secretary Beers and Assistant Secretary Bersin also met with Bulgarian non-governmental organizations, and visited the Bulgarian National Coordination Center for Border Security and Sofia Airport to survey border management and passport control operations.
For more information, please visit www.dhs.gov.
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