The document was signed by the Bulgarian energy minister Temenuzhka Petkova and her Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Antich on the sidelines of the EU-Western Balkans summit in Sofia, the ministry said in a statement.
By signing the declaration, the two countries affirm their commitment to completing the project, so that the gas interconnection can become operational by May 2022.
A joint working group will be established to oversee the construction of the gas interconnector, the ministry added. State-owned gas transmission system operator Bulgartransgaz will manage the project implementation on the Bulgarian side.
Both Serbia and Bulgaria are heavily dependent on Russian gas supplies. Bulgaria imports almost all the gas it needs to cover its domestic needs via a single pipeline from Ukraine through Romania.
Landlocked Serbia imports 82% of thegasit needs from Russia through a pipeline crossing Hungary and Ukraine. The rest comes from domestic sources.
(SEENews, May 17, 2018)