Bulgaria and the United States signed on Wednesday a deal aimed at improving the exchange of data needed to tackle 'terrorism' and organised crime, three months after a still-unsolved deadly bomb attack on Israeli tourists. "The agreement allows a more extensive exchange of information of DNA profiles and fingerprints to aid our common fight against cross-border organised crime and terrorism," Bulgaria's Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov said after signing the agreement with visiting US Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.
The deal will enable US and Bulgarian law enforcement agencies to "prevent the entry of criminals and terrorists into our countries by exchanging information about perpetrators before they get there," Napolitano said.
It will also prevent criminals from escaping justice by fleeing from one country to another, she added. Napolitano highlighted the importance of improved border security for supporting travel and trade between European Union member state Bulgaria and the US and noted the importance of the agreement for Bulgaria's efforts to join the US Visa Waiver Programme for visa-free travel.
A suicide bomb attack on July 18 on a bus at Bulgaria's Burgas airport on the Black Sea killed five Israelis and their Bulgarian driver and wounded more than 30 other tourists. Investigators are yet to identify the dead bomber or locate his suspected accomplices. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack but Israel has blamed Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah. Tehran has denied involvement.