site.btaBulgarian, Turkish Interior Ministers, Greek Migration Minister to Hold Talks in Istanbul

A trilateral meeting, organized at the invitation of the Minister of Interior of Turkiye Ali Yerlikaya to the Minister of Interior of Bulgaria Atanas Ilkov and the Minister of Migration and Asylum of Greece Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos, will be held Tuesday at the Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul.

The meeting is the first of its kind in this format. Telephone calls between the three ministers were held last year, the Interior Ministry's press office noted.

The tripartite mechanism for cooperation at the professional level was established in September 2023. It enabled open dialogue and the search for workable solutions on important issues in the field of border security, countering illegal migration, and combating cross-border organized crime.

The heads of the leading directorates for combating trafficking and cross-border crime Border Police Chief Anton Zlatanov and GDCOC Deputy Director Senior Commissioner Boyan Raev are also expected to participate in the talks.

The talks are expected to take place in the context of Bulgaria's entry into Schengen by land, as well as the new conditions in the security environment for citizens in the region.  

Bulgaria has seen a steady downward trend in migration pressures, with a 74% decrease in 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.