American gas discussion table held, emphasis on energy sector importance

The importance of American gas for Kosovo was highlighted at this table, and that the latter should not be seen as replacing other energy sources, but as additional opportunities for diversification, industrialisation and energy security growth.

Arian Zeka, executive director of the American Economic Ode, said the issue of American gas has returned to debate after a few years, also remembering 2021 developments and as Zeka has said Kosovo government had provided negative answers to the programme for development of liquid gas infrastructure, reports EO, broadcast Periscope.

“In September 2021, media reported on a final response the government had sent to the US government, which had no interest in continuing with the programme to develop liquid gas infrastructure. Reasoning even went to what was not about American gas. Five years later, the answer again is no, the reasons are more. The government this time has chosen alternatives that are less costly and more physical for the country's citizens. It is considered a certain luxury to be able to bring representatives of the country's institutions to such tables and debate with them”, Zeka said.

In contrast, Laura Kryeziu, an energy expert, said discussions on American gas are late, as the issue had to be addressed five years ago.

I think these discussions are late, but thanks to the American Ode that we have to deal with these discussions five years ago, and every time we have missed any chance of any developmental project, like New Kosovo, but now also recently gasification, namely, gasification project. I was the national co-ordinator for the development of the gas project -- that is, in co-operation with the MCC, from 2019 to 2021 -- that is, this was an agreement signed between the Government of Kosovo and the United States of America, for the development of the gas project, but there were two other components, that was also the Battery Storade that we now have, but that was the assistance in the transmission system and the development of your capacities of days that Kosovo doesn't have enough capacity in any new sector, in terms of energy, that we're taking into account of a state based on the 95% of literature. So the gas project that Pleati mentioned has had the purpose of diversification primarily because we're state that we don't know what our journey of defuelling is, we think of 95% going through and jumping right into renewable energy, but the practice of these six years has shown that it's almost impossible and other practices of states that we have around that most countries have gasification done through flexible energy, in this case that is also gas. In the part of the development of the project two years so the project has been developed, in our team we have had eight local experts because the agreement that was created is thus requested, that is, signed with the Government of Kosovo and a fund was shared by the MCC for the development of this” project, Kryeziu said.

Meanwhile, Learta Holaj, a stable development expert, said the American gas project is of equal importance to national security.

The “will be initiated by a premiere that has served us while we were in the Presidency, in the Assembly and that is trust. Faith as a pillar, as a key ingredient for building bilateral and multilateral reports, and at this point I say the answer we give for energy is also a reflection of how much we trust our most strategic ally The United States. It's been treated this day fairly by people at this table starting with Laura, Dardan, Oda American, this topic also due to the prism of what energy is equal to national security, but there's also a parameter that matters very much in how we position ourselves in geopolitical terms. To say yes to energy at this point is actually a security away from our anchor in NATO, but even at the same time it can go as far as to say it is a construction of the other security pillar as KFOR's presence to say in Kosovo”, Holaj said.

And, Dardan Sejdiu, economics expert, says gas is the bridge to a future that requires infrastructure that enables in the country's kind of industrialisation and development.

And I'm actually going to try to talk a little bit in another direction, Learta and Laura explained both logic and reasonableness, but one thing Learta said a little bit more would be the starting point of discussion, gas is the bridge, gas is not a final destination. Gas is the bridge for a future that requires an infrastructure that enables it in a variety of industrialisation and development of the country. Remember, Kosovo is without ambition as far as industry and economic development are concerned. Our ambitions are unfortunately reduced to, as it were, year-on-year. Our developmental economic ambitions have been reduced to budgetary spending, and the private sector of a developmental opinion is completely shrinking into discussions I believe very problematic. First I think when we talk about the first gas we need to talk about is interconction, so infrastructure. Then how we develop that infrastructure depends on an ambition and the developmental idea that we have. In any industry, where we export, we face another problem. Every day more and more, the European Union is organising its market around the parameters it links to the green agenda. The second thing that is of utmost importance to me is this lack of ambition, I still thankfully believe that optimism is strategic assets, unfortunately in this country I am knowing that optimism is not a desirable term and I need it, but I believe that optimism is strategic assets”, Sejdiu said. /Periscope/