Azernews.Az

By Ayya Lmahamad

Serbian Mining and Energy Minister Zorana Mihajlovic has said that her country intends to buy up to 40 percent of the necessary gas from Azerbaijan in 2023, Azernews reports.

She noted that Russia annually supplies 2.2 billion cubic meters of gas to Serbia, while the country's gas consumption is about 3 billion cubic meters per year.

"The difference will be provided partly from the gas storage in Hungary, partly from the Banat Yard gas storage, and next year, we will have the possibility to receive about 40 percent of the needed gas through the pipeline Nis-Dimitrovgrad. We expect that this will be primarily gas from Azerbaijan, and negotiations are already underway to reserve capacities for the time when the construction of that pipeline is completed," she elaborated.

Earlier this month, Azerbaijan and Serbia signed an agreement on cooperation in the energy and mining sectors. The agreement was signed between Azerbaijan's Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov and Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Mining and Energy Minister Zorana Mihajlovic during the meeting on the fringes of the Baku Energy Week.

The agreement aims to rationally use the potential of both countries' energy and natural resources and provides for cooperation in the energy sector, especially natural gas and renewable energy sources, as well as the promotion of the mutual investments in mineral exploration, regulation, energy efficiency, and establishment of joint ventures.

The document also reflects the continuation of cooperation to support the implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor. In this regard, it should be noted that the Serbia-Bulgaria (Nis-Dimitrovgrad) gas pipeline, will allow Serbia's integration into the Southern Gas Corridor.

Azerbaijan and Serbia collaborate in a variety of economic sectors. The Azerbaijan-Serbia Declaration on Strategic Partnership, signed in 2013, and the Joint Action Plan on Strategic Partnership, signed in 2018, laid the groundwork for the development of relations.

The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Serbia amounted to $9.2 million in 2021.

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Ayya Lmahamad is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @AyyaLmahamad

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