Turkey and Bulgaria agreed on Tuesday to expand cooperation on border management, irregular migration and cross-border crime during talks between Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi and his Bulgarian counterpart, Ivan Demerdzhiev, in Sofia. The ministers discussed security along the Turkish-Bulgarian border, human trafficking, migrant smuggling and drug trafficking. They also outlined measures to improve the management of the border, the Bulgarian News Agency reported. Bulgaria’s border with Turkey forms part of the European Union’s external frontier and is a route used by migrants and refugees seeking to enter Europe. The border took on added importance after Bulgaria became a full member of the passport-free Schengen area in January 2025.