Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Rumyana Bachvarova and her Chinese counterpart Guo Shengkun signed on Monday an agreement on jointly preventing and combating crime.

The legal framework for cooperation in the area of law enforcement between Bulgaria and China was last updated in 1996.

Bachvarova highlighted that the current security environment poses common threats and challenges which require joint solutions and close cooperation with partner authorities.

The agreement provides the necessary legal basis for effective police cooperation in countering a broad range of crimes, including international terrorism and organised crime as well as trafficking of humans, drugs and arms.

The agreement also foresees the exchange of experts and training of police officers, the website of the interior ministry informs.

The interior ministry and the State Agency for National Security (DANS) will be the Bulgarian institutions responsible for implementing the agreement.

Bulgaria managed to guarantee provisions regulating the protection of personal data, the lack of which until now has hampered the effective cooperation between the law enforcement authorities of the two countries.

Guo Shengkun identified international terrorism as the greatest and most immediate challenge to global security.

He highlighted that the fight against the financing of terrorism required enhanced international cooperation.