Vienna, 01 June, 2022 – The Minister of Economy of the Republic of Kosovo, Artane Rizvanolli, and the Minister of Environment, Spatial Planning, and Infrastructure, Liburn Aliu, participated in the Ministerial Meeting for the Western Balkans and Turkey, which was held in Vienna.

The meeting focused on encouraging investments in renewable energy, tackling the on-going threats of climate change and the transition towards a green and sustainable economy in the Western Balkans and Turkey.

Minister Rizvanolli was invited to participate in the Conference by the Austrian Minister for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology, Leonore Gewessler.

During the meeting, Minister Rizvnaolli emphasized that the focus of the Government of the Republic of Kosovo is the energy transition, with a commitment for this transition to be fair and affordable for the citizens and businesses of the country by guaranteeing security of supply.

Further, the Minister shared with the participants the work that the Ministry of Economy has done so far for the drafting of the Energy Strategy 2022 – 2031, the Law on Renewable Energy Sources, which is expected to be adopted by the end of 2022, and the first Kosovo solar auction, which is expected to take place in 2022 and will include capacities up to 100 MW.

The meeting was also attended by the Austrian Minister, Leonore Gewessler, the Managing Director of the Austrian Environment Agency, Georg Rebernig; the Head of the EU Green Deal Unit from the Energy Community Secretariat, Violeta Kogalniceanu; as well as the ministers of the Western Balkans and Turkey.