Strengthening the energy collaboration of Greece and Albania, including the new electrical interconnection between the two countries, was discussed by Greek Energy Minister Kostas Skrekas and Albania's Minister of Infrastructure & Energy Belinda Balluku at Tirana on Friday.
Skrekas also met with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama. The Greek minister briefed both Rama and Balluku about the new natural gas infrastructures that will be created in Greece, which will triple the country's LNG storage capacity. He noted that these projects will enhance regional energy security, and will help to end dependency on Russian fossil fuels imports.
Accelerating the implementation of the new Greece-Albania power interconnection, which will triple the quantities of electricity transferring between the two countries, was also discussed, a Greek ministry statement said. Skrekas stressed the many benefits arising from the development of a new high-voltage line between southern Albania and western Greece, which will ensure more efficient cross-border electricity flows, and better integration of renewable energy sources in the electricity network.
He expressed the hope that the project's technical specifications will be completed by the end of 2022, adding that "imports of electricity from Albania were decisive last summer in covering the heightened demand during the heatwaves that hit Greece."
Skrekas' meeting with Albania's Minister of Environment & Tourism Mirella Kumbaro marked a new era in the cooperation of the two countries in the environment, after the activation of the agreement on the Protection & Sustainable Development of the Prespa Park Area. This was signed in 2010 among Albania, Greece, North Macedonia and the European Union.
As the Greek minister underlined, targeted actions will begin in June for the protection of biodiversity and the integrated management of water resources in the Prespes ecosystem. The protection of the Aoos (Vjosa) River, one of the few wild-flowing rivers in Europe with more than 1,000 different species of fauna, was also discussed.