Regional Energy Cooperation Crucial for Region Development

TIRANA, July 14

The crucial role of regional cooperation was the main focus of the fourth international meeting at the expert level on the safe and sustainable transit of energy that was held on Wednesday in Tirana. The meeting was organised by the Energy Charter Secretariat, in cooperation with the Ministry of Energy and Industry of Albania and the Organization for the Union of the Mediterranean (UfM).
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, Minister of Energy and Industry Damian Gjiknuri, representative of the Secretariat of the Energy Charter Kanat Botbaev, representative of the UfM Jorge Borrego, and Dutch Ambassador to Tirana Dewi van de Weerd were among the attendees of the event.
The gathering served as a discussion platform for the transit of energy globally and regionally, in view of the energy security and the integration of the European Union markets, in particular among the countries of the Mediterranean.

“The process of interaction between the EU and the Western Balkans launched in Berlin three years ago, has created a completely new horizon to deepen energy cooperation in our region. Energy cooperation is one of the main pillars of this process,” PM Rama said.

Further on, the PM mentioned some of the projects that will help to boost cooperation between the Western Balkans and the European Union countries.
One of them is the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP). According to Rama, this pipeline will drastically increase the amount of gas available to the European energy market, allowing a considerable number of European countries to not be dependent on a single source for natural gas.
He also pointed out the interconnection line with Kosovo saying that the line is a fantastic example of what potential there is in the regional cooperation.
“We must solve a problem that is still pending between Kosovo and Serbia in this regard, but during our meeting in Paris with my Serbian counterpart we made some good progress in this aspect, and I am very hopeful that everything will be solved within this year,” the Premier added.
On his part, Minister Gjiknuri stated that it is important to increase the efficiency of power transiting in Albania, in the region and beyond.
“This remains our common challenge,” Gjiknuri concluded.
The Energy Charter Treaty plays an important role as part of an international effort to build a base of common rules to strengthen energy security and competitiveness of the markets in the Euro-Asian countries.

News Source: PM’s Office