Joint Bulgarian-Romanian police units are starting patrols in the largest Bulgarian Black Sea resort Bansko as of December 13, the Interior Ministry announced.

The joint patrols are stipulated under an agreement between the police authorities of Bulgaria and Romania.

Senior Romanian police officials were in Bansko Monday for the formal ceremony for the start of the joint police patrols in the top mountain resort.

Romania has thus sent two police officers to accompany their Bulgarian colleagues in Bansko.

"The rationale of the initiative is to have the Romanian police officers work together with their Bulgarian colleagues in order to make easier the contacts with their compatriots who choose Bansko for winter tourism vacations," the Bulgarian Interior Ministry explained.

The Interior Ministry in Sofia has reminded that Bulgarian and Romanian police units have been patrolling the Bulgarian Black Sea resorts – which enjoy about one million Romanian tourists annually – as well as some of the border cities and towns – under the cooperation agreement singed on July 28, 2010.

"The work of the Bulgarian-Romanian patrols has great success in the summer season in the sea resorts and our cooperation will continue in the coming years," stated the head of a directorate the Security Police Department at the Bulgarian Interior, Nikolay Grigorov at Monday's ceremony in Bansko.

"The work of our Romanian colleagues here is improving communication, tourists are more satisfied, and assess more highly the work of the police. Last but not least, the joint patrols are a great way to exchange positive experience and good practices between the police officers," said Aurel Giurgescu, a home affairs attach? at the Romanian Embassy in Sofia.

Bulgaria's largest ski resort Bansko – which draws hundreds of thousands of tourists from around the world each year and hosts top global ski competitions – already has Greek police officers helping out their Bulgarian colleagues under a similar agreement.