On 11 June 2013 in Skopje took place the forum Energy Strategy, Security, and Gasification in Macedonia and the Regionwhich was jointly organized by Analytica and the U.S. Embassy Skopje.
On 11 June 2013 in Skopje took place the forum Energy Strategy, Security, and Gasification in Macedonia and the Regionwhich was jointly organized by Analytica and the U.S. Embassy Skopje. The aim of the forum was to be a high level platform on which representatives from government, private sector, diplomatic community, academia, international organizations, and civil society can gather to discuss energy strategy, energy security, and gasification relative to Macedonia and the Balkan region from geopolitical, economic, and policy perspectives.
The idea behind this forum was initiating a formal dialogue on the topic of energy in Macedonia and the region, as it is a topic of great interest to many different entities, and is one which directly affects the lives of everyone in the region. The forum was organized in three panels which covered the topics as concepts and challenges of the regional energy strategy of the Western Balkan countries; the various aspects of the gasification process in Macedonia and the Balkans; and the matter of energy security in Macedonia and the region analyzed in terms of strategy, diversity and forecast.
Mr. Sani Demiri, President of Analytica, the U.S. Ambassador H.E. Paul Wohlers and the Head of the EU Delegation in Macedonia Ambassador H.E. Aivo Orav opened the forum. Present at the forum were representatives from the diplomatic community as the Serbian Embassy, Albanian Embassy, Bulgarian Embassy, from the business sector as ELEM, MEPSO, GA-MA, TE-TO, Gazprom Export Macedonia, Economic Chamber of North-West Macedonia, the academic community as the Macedonian Academy of Science and Arts, local government representatives as the municipality of Strumica, Karposh, representatives from the international community and the civil society, consultants and experts in the energy area.
At the forum the necessity of increased regional cooperation and exchange when creating energy strategies was highlighted, the need of more coordinated energy policies and projects which also include the input of various sectors was stressed as well as the importance of the gasification process and strengthening Macedonia’s and the region’s energy security was highlighted. This forum contributed to the clarification of different stakeholders’ interests in regards to energy and offered a better understanding of the geopolitical and economic frameworks within which energy interests operate in Macedonia and the Balkans.
Pictures of the conference may be found here.
For more information on the conference, please contact Ms Ana Stojilovska, Research Fellow of the Energy and Infrastructure Programme: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.