A Swiss delegation visited the State Agency for Refugees to discuss the Swiss-Bulgarian program for strengthening migration management and to agree on the measures and activities to be implemented by the latter.
The Framework Agreement was signed by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Innovation and Growth and the Deputy Director of the Swiss State Secretariat for Migration. The program operator is the International Projects Directorate under the Ministry of the Interior, and it will be implemented by the State Agency for Refugees under the Council of Ministers, IOM Bulgaria, UNICEF Bulgaria and the Bulgarian Red Cross.
21 million Swiss francs will be used to improve Bulgaria’s capacity for migration management, with particular focus on applicants with special needs and unaccompanied minors, through these main activities:
- digitalisation of international protection procedures,
- creation of an initial reception unit
- improvement of conditions in safe areas for unaccompanied children,
- strengthened protection system for asylum seekers with a focus on child protection.