Serbia’s Minister of Mining and Energy, Dubravka Đedović, met with the Ambassador of Canada to Serbia, Giles Norman, to discuss closer ties between the two countries in mining and renewable energy sources (RES). The Canadian Ambassador said that his country “is open” to improving bilateral cooperation in both areas.
Alongside the primary goal of ensuring the security of energy supply, tackling climate change is “the priority” for the Serbian Mining and Energy Ministry, said Minister Đedović – emphasising that in this context, it is crucial to increase the share of RES in gross final consumption.
“We are working intensively on the preparation of a three-year auction plan that should encourage the construction of new wind and solar capacities,” she added. “We expect the first auctions for wind farms already in the first quarter of next year. The interest is really extremely high, which also requires great caution so that too fast integration of a large amount of energy from RES does not endanger the capacity and security of the power system. It is important to note that with the support of EPS [Elektroprivreda Srbije, a state-owned power utility company], the Ministry is planning large projects of wind and solar power plants.”
Ambassador Norman said that Canadian companies have a very long and successful history of doing business in Serbia, primarily in the mining sector.
“Based on the importance of critical minerals, Canada has adopted a Minerals Strategy with the goal of becoming a global supplier of key minerals and clean technologies based on them, through sustainable mining and respecting the highest standards of environmental protection,” said the Canadian Ambassador. The Ambassador added that Canada is open to improving cooperation with Serbia, both in the field of mining and in the field of renewable energy sources.
Minister Đedović pointed out that Serbia’s Ministry of Mining and Energy is interested in cooperation with Canada in exchanging experience related to the exploitation of mineral raw materials, as well as re-cultivation and environmental protection from the aspect of mining activities.
