Bulgarian Interior Minister Tsvetlin Yovchev has backed the proposal of Drug Enforcement Administration deputy chief Thomas Harrigan to discuss creating special joint teams.

Harrigan and Yovchev met Wednesday as part of a working visit of the Bulgarian delegation to the US, according to the press office of the Interior Ministry.

Harrigan expressed his appreciation for the bilateral relations built over the past few years, commending the joint operation with French law enforcement agencies in February 2014 during which some 1400kg of cocaine were seized.

Yovchev acquainted Harrigan with the reform in Bulgaria's security sector and the plans of the government on counteracting organized crime, including drug trafficking and accompanying activities.

Bulgaria's Interior Minister expressed his support for the idea to create special joint teams of DEA (through its office in Sofia), the Interior Ministry, the State Agency for National Security (DANS), and the Customs Agency with a view to deepening bilateral operational cooperation.

Yovchev claimed that the measure was certain to increase efficiency in the sphere.

Yovchev and Harrigan discussed bilateral relations on a strategic level and identified concrete measures for deepening and expanding cooperation.

They also exchanged views on the current trends in drug trafficking and counteraction methods, paying special attention to the need for comprehensive international cooperation in the operational sphere.

At the end of the meeting, Yovchev invited Harrigan and DEA administrator Michele Leonhart to visit Bulgaria at a convenient time in 2014.