Vucic: Cooperation is necessary; let's establish a regional market

The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, said that if we wanted to survive and have enough gas, oil, and electricity for the functioning of our households, we must cooperate. As he said, they were going to form a regional market, Pink reports.

Vucic said at the joint press conference after the Regional Conference that "Possibilities of investing in renewable energy sources in the Western Balkans" may only be secured together because not everyone has everything.

"Some have oil, some gas, some more electricity for export in the summer and some in the winter. In order to survive, we have enough gas, oil, electricity for the functioning of our households, we will have to cooperate. This will be a new reason for growth, that is one opportunity, our conclusions are to go towards the formation of a regional market, to help each other", emphasized Vucic, speaking about the energy transition, the energy reform within the Western Balkans, which must change when it comes to energy, commit to diversifying energy sources and turning towards renewable energy sources.

On behalf of the Norwegian government, the special envoy of the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Norway for energy, Andreas Eriksen, stated that Norway intends to help Serbia in the energy transition.

"The energy crisis affects all of Europe, including our countries. In very difficult times, we have to regionalize our markets. When it comes to energy, we have to go beyond our borders. Indeed, today this event is very important. I really hope that we to continue these talks," he said.

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama emphasized that it was an incredible opportunity to meet in Belgrade and discuss this topic at a time when the war in Ukraine is ongoing and that this was a very important conversation and topic because we are all small markets and we need to open up.

"We have to regionalize our markets and when it comes to energy, we should also go beyond our borders, because we are still small markets and if we only deal with something in an isolated way, what we need can be much more expensive. This event is very important and I would like to thank the government of Norway and the government of Serbia, who made it possible for us to start this conversation with people who have the most knowledge," Rama said, adding that he hopes to continue the conversation.

Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Zoran Tegeltija, said that more electricity is produced in Bosnia and Herzegovina than the domestic market needs, so the surplus is exported.

He emphasized that all the facilities there were built a long time ago and require modernization and huge investments, especially since most of the electricity production comes from thermal power plants, which are not welcome according to the EU's Green Agenda.

The Prime Minister of Montenegro, Dritan Abazovic, said that he believed that the topic of the conference was crucial.

"Not only the countries of the Western Balkans, but also the whole of Europe, are affected by the energy crisis. Our region is very interested in the development of renewable energy sources. This is especially important for Montenegro, which wants to present itself as a 'green' destination," Abazovic said.

As he says, the goal is to start building new energy facilities. He adds that their ambition is to build solar and wind power plants, as well as liquid gas storage.

The Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Dimitar Kovacevski, said that today the most important topic of the meetings was precisely the lack, or more precisely, the need for additional electricity.

"We had the opportunity to present our strategic goals, as well as something to provide those opportunities. This is the moment when we could develop the region as a place to create green energy. In the last 30 years, we have seen division and misunderstanding, but in the previous period, in the region we have seen the creation of a region of cooperation and good neighborly relations. Cooperation is the only way to overcome the crisis," Kovacevski said.

As he says, the most important thing was to see how to establish certain elements in the long term that would help the government of North Macedonia to develop in that direction.

"The government of North Macedonia is investing in large energy projects, because we are sure that this is where the future lies," Kovacevski said.

At the Regional Conference, organized by the embassies of the Kingdom of Norway in Belgrade and Sarajevo, in cooperation with the Nordic Business Alliance, the Business Association Norway-BiH and Norwegian partners for cooperation in the field of energy, the Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama, the Prime Minister of North Macedonia Dimitar Kovacevski, Prime Minister of Montenegro Dritan Abazović and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Zoran Tegeltija participated.