Obrenovic: Azerbaijan to play important role in Serbia’s energy security

Azerbaijan will play an important role in strengthening Serbia’s energy security, Serbian political scientist Strahinja Obrenovic told Report.

The political scientist noted that the Serbia-Bulgaria gas interconnector, the opening ceremony of which took place in Serbia on December 10, would enable the flow of natural gas from Azerbaijan towards Serbia, strengthening its energy security and diversifying sources of supply.

"According to statements of Serbian officials, the volume of natural gas imported from Azerbaijan to Serbia is expected to increase up to 1 billion cubic meters per year. Serbia has the ambition to become an important transit country for natural gas in the region, making further connections with neighboring countries, such as North Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina," he added.

"Meetings between representatives of Azerbaijan and Serbia are important in terms of bringing closer two countries together. This should help investors from both countries to invest in different sectors of the economy. Two sides expressed their interest in investing in the energy sector, defense, transportation, technology, etc. Azerbaijani companies are already present in the Serbian market, and investors from Serbia are interested in expanding their business into Azerbaijan."

On December 10, the opening ceremony of the Serbia-Bulgaria gas interconnector took place in the Serbian city of Nis. The ceremony was attended by the presidents of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, Serbia Aleksandar Vucic and Bulgaria Rumen Radev.

The gas interconnector will contribute to the diversification of energy sources in Serbia and the Western Balkans region, providing the country with safer and more stable supplies from various gas network systems, in particular from Azerbaijan and from the Alexandroupolis LNG terminal in Greece.