Thessaloniki, 4 September 2026 (MIA) - We established the Ministry of Energy just two years ago, and today we are already building the interconnector. Many things happened the past two years, but what is exceptionally important is regional cooperation. It is always good when cooperation exists, especially with the neighbors, and interconnectivity means a lot because you cannot be an island, you cannot be isolated when speaking of energy, Minister of Energy, Mining, and Mineral Resources Sanja Bozhinovska said Friday at a panel discussion at the 6th Thessaloniki Metropolitan Summit in Greece. 

“Today, two years later, we have our goals: I hope next year by June, July at the latest, we will be done with the Greek section of the interconnector, and by the end of the year with the Serbian section as well. This means we will have an alternative, and it is always better when you have several alternatives. We can also be a supplier of Southeast Europe and I think this is very good,” Bozhinovska said.

The Minister said the countries will hold another ministerial meeting next month, like the one in Athens before. 

“This is very important and very good, to meet and to discuss what the challenges are, what we need to improve. We agreed to meet quarterly. This will be our second meeting. We have all learned that cooperation is important, but also that the commitment to deliver is just as important,” Bozhinovska underscored. 

The Energy Minister said the benefit of the citizens is always the most important for the Government. 

“Of course, you can’t get everyone’s approval for the projects you are implementing, but in the end the polls will show the response. Apart from with Greece and Bulgaria, we don’t have gas infrastructure across the entire country, so we started building. We want other cities to have central heating as well – currently only the capital does. Connectivity is a benefit for the citizens and I think they will see this, not immediately, but let’s say in the medium term, in 3 to 5 years,” the Minister said. 

Bozhinovska also spoke about the energy transition and phasing out coal. 

“The country has a just transition program, there are a lot of investments for us to be able to gradually phase out coal, but this is neither easy nor simple. We need a lot of investment, and we want this to be fair for all the people working in the mining sector, we must look after the people who are actually working there. It is a very complicated process, but I think with 58 percent renewables we are moving in a good direction,” Bozhinovska said. 

On Friday afternoon, as part of the 10th Southeast Europe Energy Forum, Bozhinovska will sign a Memorandum of Understanding with which North Macedonia will officially join the Vertical Gas Corridor. 

Photo: MIA