Djedovic Handanovic signs joint statement in US on secure gas supplies in Europe

WASHINGTON - Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic attended on Tuesday in Washington a transatlantic summit on gas security at which she signed a joint statement in which the signatories agree to work on advancing the resilience of the natural gas market and on ensuring secure and affordable natural gas supplies in eastern and central Europe.

Djedovic Handanovic noted that Serbia had backed a US initiative aimed at boosting the resilience of the natural gas market and achieving the regional objective of secure gas supplies, as well as at developing and strengthening Europe-US relations in the energy sector as part of a Partnership for Transatlantic Energy Cooperation (P-TEC).

"Through the joint statement, we agreed to work on ensuring secure and affordable natural gas supplies by using existing infrastructure and building new infrastructure as needed, in order to boost gas supplies and achieve regional energy goals. We discussed measures we can take to make gas supplies dependable, such as harmonising the gas exchanges, investments, building new gas infrastructure and long-term stability of natural gas trading. That does not mean turning to just one supplier, but boosting energy security," the minister said.

During the gas price and supply crisis in Europe as a result of the war in Ukraine, Serbia was regularly supplied with natural gas at favourable prices, she said, adding that efforts were underway to diversify the gas supply sources and routes to create alternative routes in case of disruptions.

"By building gas interconnections to North Macedonia and Romania in the next two years, along with the existing Serbia-Bulgaria gas interconnection, we will have the capacity to transport around 4 bln cubic metres of gas a year. That infrastructure will give us access to new gas markets as well as to new sources, and we gain new supply routes," Djedovic Handanovic said.

The summit was hosted by the US National Energy Dominance Council.

Besides US Energy Secretary Chris Wright, the joint statement was signed by the energy ministers and officials of Greece, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Moldova, Ukraine, Croatia, Lithuania and Bosnia and Herzegovina.