Skopje, 31 May 2023 (MIA) - We must work on having as many domestic sources of energy as possible considering we are still an import-dependent country, and through regional initiatives to enter the wider energy markets, President Stevo Pendarovski said at Wednesday Macedonian Energy Forum (MEF) 2023.

As a country that is highly dependent on energy import, Pendarovski said, that it is better to be united with other countries and be part of the continent's energy market before becoming an EU member.

"I don't see any other way to appease our needs," Pendarovski added.
 
At the forum, President Pendarovski and the former Croatian President Stjepan Mesić shared their vision for energy challenges, global stability for the coming period, and the role of small states.
 
As Pendarovski pointed out, global situations depend very little on small states and they can project their interest and influence outside their borders only through international organizations, which they are a part of, or should be.
 
"It is good for North Macedonia that we joined NATO. Energy security is important for global security. We have been a part of NATO since 2020, which means that we are not alone, as a small country and according to the military potentials we have manages through the Alliance and joint resources they have to make our voice be heard outside of our borders. In the economic and energy aspects, it is important that we are in negotiations with the EU, we have been candidates for many years, and the Union has special programs though which we can also participate before becoming a full member, Pendarovski said.
 
The President assessed that the global environment can be soothed or limited only by big countries, and the only thing we have to do is hope that the western alliance which dictates modern society's main values, will succeed in overcoming opposing tendencies which, unfortunately, the past year and a half has been produced by Russia that does not allow democracies to develop around them.
 
"The prospect a peaceful global environment does not look bright. There is no person in the world who thinks that the Russian invasion will end quickly, especially since there is not one person who says that it will end in such a way that we will have a resolved situation in which autocratic tendencies and autocrats will retreat and stop causing problems, not only in their immediate neighborhood as they call it, but on the continent as well. The Russian invasion has not only disrupted the energy market, but also the chain of basic food supplies in many different ways. There is hardly a sub-sector of the global economy that has not been affected," Pendarovski states.
 
Because of the war in Ukraine, the President adds, we are paying a much more for energy, and I hope that it won't last long because in the meantime we will not have to find alternative sources for supply and energy.

Evaluating that North Macedonia is a regional leader in increasing energy from renewable sources, Pendarovski points out that we need to continue becoming less import-dependent, and participate in all regional groupings that serve for finding a common energy market worldwide.
 
"Of course, it is inevitable that we seek to utilize the practical privileges of the common European energy market,” the President noted, adding that in crisis it is important that Brussels treats us as a de facto EU member.
 
The sixth edition of MEF23 concludes Wednesday with panels on energy diplomacy, technological innovations for energy and transforming energy though local climate action. ssh/sk/

Photo: Office of the President

Фото: МИА