Thessaloniki, 4 September 2026 (MIA) – Minister of Energy, Mining and Mineral Resources Sanja Bozhinovska on Friday will sign a memorandum of cooperation for Macedonia to join the Vertical Gas Corridor during the 10th Southeast Europe Energy Forum (SEEF) in Thessaloniki.

The memorandum will formally mark Macedonia’s joining of the Vertical Gas Corridor, a major European initiative to diversify natural gas supplies and strengthen energy security in Southeast, Central and Eastern Europe.

The 10th Southeast Europe Energy Forum will focus on energy security, renewable energy sources and regional cooperation in Southeast Europe. Ministers, representatives of major energy companies and international institutions, experts, regulators and investors are expected to participate.

Bozhinovska is also scheduled to take part in a ministerial roundtable on security, affordability and competitiveness in a changing energy landscape, together with her counterparts from Greece, Bulgaria and Cyprus, followed by the signing of the memorandum.

Bozhinovska will first participate in the Sixth Thessaloniki Metropolitan Summit: Leading up to 2030: Connectivity and Growth for Southeast Europe, also taking place in Thessaloniki, with the Vertical Gas Corridor among the main topics.

According to the program, discussions will also cover geopolitical changes, regional economic cooperation, infrastructure development and the green energy transition in Southeast Europe. Key issues concerning the challenges facing the SEE region amid global geopolitical turbulence and social and technological changes worldwide will also be addressed.

In mid-May this year, a ministerial meeting was held in Athens, attended by the energy ministers of Macedonia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Greece, where it was decided to extend the Vertical Gas Corridor to Macedonia and Serbia.

Two months ago, representatives of Greek natural gas transmission operator DESFA, transmission system operators from the Vertical Gas Corridor countries – Greece, Bulgaria, Hungary, Ukraine, Romania, Macedonia and Serbia – as well as Gastrade and ICGB, held a meeting in Athens, where the expansion of the corridor was also discussed.

By joining the Vertical Gas Corridor, Macedonia is expected to gain additional energy stability and diversification of supply sources, alongside other projects such as the interconnectors with Greece and Serbia. Once completed, these projects will connect Macedonia to both the north and south, giving it the potential to become a major regional natural gas hub.

The contract for the design and construction of the Macedonia-Serbia gas interconnector was signed last week, officially launching the project aimed at strengthening regional connectivity and diversifying natural gas supplies.

Construction of the interconnector with Greece is underway and is expected to be completed next year. In early July, the Ministry of Energy, Mining and Mineral Resources, NOMAGAS and DESFA agreed on the next steps for the project.

Photo: MIA archive