Ministers of the Interior of Estonia and Bulgaria signed an inter-ministerial cooperation agreement
22.09.2010 | Marko Pomerants | English news
On 21st September a cooperation agreement between the Ministries of the Interior of the two countries was signed by the Minister of the Interior Marko Pomerants and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior of Bulgaria Tsvetan Tsvetanov.
The aim of the agreement is to ensure cooperation of the ministries in order to facilitate the fight against crime in both countries by exchanging information and experience in border management and police sectors.
"The cooperation agreement concluded today is a basis for everyday practical cooperation between national security authorities in both countries and for making long-term strategic decisions", said the Minister of the Interior Marko Pomerants.
Within the framework of cooperation information and experience necessary for fighting crime will be exchanged: experts from both countries will be involved, meetings and joint training sessions arranged and crime prevention programs implemented.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior of Bulgaria Tsvetan Tsvetanov also believes that the agreement is very important. In addition to the signing of the agreement the Bulgarian minister has also noted that an overview of the Estonian IT solutions received during the visit was useful. "In the area of electronic services Estonia might be a model for other European states", said the Bulgarian minister.
"I will definitely tell my colleagues about what I saw here and will recommend them to learn from Estonian experience", added the Bulgarian minister while talking about IKT Demonstration Center, e-police and ID-cards.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior of Bulgaria Tsvetan Tsvetanov arrived in Estonia with a two-day visit in order to sign an inter-ministerial cooperation agreement and to discuss Estonian candidature as a location of a new IT Agency of the European Union. During the visit the Bulgarian minister also had a meeting with Prime Minister Andrus Ansip.
Bulgarian delegation received an overview of the Estonian IT solutions and work of police force by visiting Police and Border Guard Board and Police Coordination Center.
