Montenegro received the support of the United States of America (USA) for strategic determination in the energy sector and the interest of investors in investing in projects for renewable energy sources, announced the Minister of Ecology and Spatial Planning and Urbanism Ana Novaković Đurović.
“I believe that we have confirmed strategic cooperation somewhere, among other things in these areas,” Novaković Đurović, who is also the head of the Ministry of European Affairs.
She is in Washington, where she met with the Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources, Jeffrey Payat, with whom she discussed energy topics, the energy potential of Montenegro, and regional cooperation.
“I presented what is the current energy policy and strategy when it comes to Montenegro. It mainly refers to our decision to invest more and more in the development of renewable energy sources and, of course, to move towards decarbonization, which is, among other things, our obligation as a candidate country for EU membership and all the documents we signed and ratified in that process.” stated Novaković Đurović.
When asked if there was talk about any specific power plants, Novakoić Đurović replied that there was no talk about any specific power plants.
“Most of the talk was about the regional undertaking, which is the Adriatic-Ionian gas pipeline, which is a very current topic for a reason and a very important and complex project for the entire region. The United States of America considers the construction of a gas pipeline very important, which will, among other things, strengthen the energy potential of this region, but also have a positive impact on the environment. So, there are possibilities for some strategic connection in that sense, and I believe that this represents one of the biggest projects in perspective for the region, when it comes to the energy sector, of course,” said Novaković Đurović.
Montenegro did not receive financial support from the European Commission as part of the latest package of financial aid to the Western Balkans, which amounts to 2.1 billion. When asked what can be done for Montenegro to receive this aid as soon as possible and whether it is possible this year, Novaković Đurović replied that it is possible.
“In December of last year, we received EUR 40 million in support from this specific Western Balkan investment framework, so some 20 days ago we received an additional EUR 5.4 million from the same financial package for support, especially for the preparation of feasibility studies, which are the most demanding process in the preparation of complex infrastructure projects and that is a regular procedure”, reminded Novaković Đurović.
She said that it is a financial framework that has calls twice a year, it is not realistic to expect that every project will always be sufficiently well prepared, this does not mean that these projects are not good or that they were rejected.
“It is necessary to make certain interventions, for which we also received support, and I am sure that in the next cycle and call, we will manage to secure funds for a significant number of these projects through this type of financial support,” said Novaković Đurović.
She said that there are other sources, as well as that we are an active user of other funds, instruments for pre-accession assistance, cross-border cooperation.
“Currently, over 100 million EUR of funds from European funds are being realized in Montenegro, and regardless of that, I always send the message that we need to be more dedicated in preparing the applications themselves and strengthening capacities in that area. It is not easy to prepare large infrastructure projects, but Montenegro has a serious perspective in that direction, with a clear vision of development, which is very important, and I am sure that we will very quickly show that the projects that were not supported in this cycle will be in the next one”, she concluded. is Novaković Đurović.
Sign up for business news updates & special reports.
