Rama: Regional market in the Western Balkans for easier access to energy sources

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said that he hoped that a regional energy sources market would be created so that the countries of the Western Balkans could have easier access to energy sources and investments in the energetics sector, Radio Television of Vojvodina broadcaster (RTV) reported.

"This was a necessary gathering at a time of war when bombs were falling and hitting someone in Ukraine, and when the energy crisis and prices due to the war were affecting entire Europe. As we said earlier when we started the ''Open Balkans'' initiative and advocated for wider regional cooperation, in these difficult times it is without any doubt becoming more obvious that we have to regionalize our markets and go beyond our borders when it comes to energetics.", said Rama at the regional conference "Possibility of investing in renewable energy sources in the Western Balkans" in Belgrade.

He explained that the local markets of the Western Balkans countries were small, and they could only be more expensive if the countries individually dealt with the issue of energy sources and their procurement.

"If we were to act regionally in energetics, we could have simpler access to finances and stronger contact with the private sector," Rama pointed out.

He thanked the Serbia and Norway governments for making it possible to start talks with people who had the best structural knowledge in this area – the Norwegians.

Rama expressed the hope that the talks would continue and that he would have Norwegian friends with him so that the Western Balkans countries could create a master plan for the regional market and a road map for investments in renewable energy sources.