The US will not drop its visa requirements for Bulgarians in 2012, Bulgaria's Ambassador in Washington Elena Poptodorova has revealed.

Bulgaria will start working anew with the new US Congress next January in order to achieve towards achieving its inclusion in the US visa waiver program, Poptodorova has told the Bulgarian Standart daily.

However, Poptodorova has pointed out that the Bulgarian government and the relevant US institutions will continue cooperating on the issue throughout the year.

According to the Bulgarian Ambassador to the US, the Balkan country has always had the support of the US administration concerning the abolishment of its visas.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will travel to Bulgaria's capital Sofia on February 5 in order to meet with senior Bulgarian officials and discuss a range of issues, including democratic transitions in the Middle East, our ongoing support for Afghanistan, energy security and our bilateral cooperation in international law enforcement.