Pristine, 26 February 2010 – Ministry of Energy and Mining of the Republic of Kosovo (MEM) and Ministry of Economy and Energy of the Republic of Bulgaria signed today in Sofia Cooperation Agreement which foresees the intensification of bilateral relations in the energy sector, conformity to the policies and national strategies.

The agreement was signed by Minister of Energy and Mining, Justina Shiroka-Pula and Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism of Bulgaria, Traycho Traykov.

On this occasion Minister Pula has stressed that the signing of this Agreement is of particular importance in the context of regional cooperation in the energy field and the fact that Bulgaria is a member of the European Union.

“The integration of Kosovo into the EU is our major priority. For this, we need to increase regional and international bilateral cooperation. We are realizing this in the framework of the Energy Community Treaty and we are trying to establish and enhance it with the countries members of the EU. In this regard, this Agreement we are reaching today in Sofia is the first one “, said Minister Pula.

Minister Pula said that the MEM shall be engaged that this Agreement shall be realized in the interest of both countries, because Kosovo needs the experience of Bulgaria, which in 2007 joined the EU, and has the freshen a great work had to do to become part of EU.

Agreement signed between the two ministries provides that parties shall define the priority areas of cooperation in the energy sector, coal, natural gas, renewable energy sources, energy efficiency, security supply of electricity, as well as assistance in preparing and implementation of infrastructure initiatives or various projects.

Also, the signatory parties shall exchange information on their energy sectors, including those on the development of their energy policies, privatization processes, harmonization of legal and regulatory frameworks with those of the European Union, as well as information on the priorities described above.

For this parties have agreed to form a joint team of operational experts from both ministries and representatives of their state enterprises, representatives of ministries for assistance, consultation and proposals for further steps of cooperation for the implementation of activities approved by this Memorandum of Understanding.