Moldovan energy minister says interconnection projects between Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Romania to bring benefits to Moldova

Chisinau, 22 November /MOLDPRES/ - Seventy five per cent of the energy consumed in Moldova is imported and, to ensure the country’s energy security, the authorities are to provide the interconnections and develop reliable energy sources. Energy Minister Victor Parlicov has made statements to this effect; he participated in the first energy forum, held in Istanbul.   

The official referred to the need to identify solutions for ensuring the country’s energy independence from political influences and spoke out for a functional energy market. ‘’A remarkable example is the possibility to turn to account the solar energy from the East for the needs from the West and vice versa, through energy interconnections. The projects on interconnection between Azerbaijan, Bulgaria and Romania represent an important step to this end and will bring benefits including to Moldova,’’ Minister Parlicov stressed.    

Also, Minister Victor Parlicov emphasized the importance of the energy efficiency projects initiated by the Energy Ministry, as well as the efforts of modernization and extension of the energy infrastructure from Moldova. Among these initiatives, there is the construction of interconnection lines with Romania, the Sustainable Transition to Energy Efficiency in Moldova project (STEEM) and the projects backed through the Fund for Energy Efficiency in the Residential Sector from Moldova (FEERM).  

The regional cooperation of the countries from the Eastern Europe and Central Asia was discussed by Energy Minister Victor Parlicov, along with his counterparts from Azerbaijan, Turkey, Bulgaria, Georgia, Hungary, Libya, Serbia and Uzbekistan, within the panel of discussions, Challenges and opportunities for a resilient future, organized on the sidelines of the first issue of the Energy Forum in Istanbul.      

During discussions, Energy Minister of Azerbaijan Parviz Shahbazov, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of Turkey Alparslan Bayraktar and Foreign Affairs Minister of Hungary Peter Szijjártó highlighted the importance of investments from renewable sources, diversification of the gas supply routes and consolidation of the infrastructure, in order to back a sustainable energy market.   

The Energy Forum from Istanbul has the goal to promote the regional and international cooperation in the energy sector. The event brought together energy ministers, representatives of international organizations, NGOs, academic environment and leaders from the private sector, in order to discuss the energy security, integration of renewable resources and the role of the interconnections in the construction or resilient and sustainable energy markets.