Szijjártó: Hungary, Serbia to double power transmission capacities by 2028

Hungary and Serbia are working on doubling the power transmission capacity between the two countries by 2028, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said after a meeting with Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Đedović.

Péter Szijjártó met with Dubravka Đedović in Serbia’s capital Belgrade to discuss energy security in the region and the improvement of energy cooperation.

In May last year, the two countries agreed to strengthen cooperation in the energy sector, including the construction of a cross-border power line. A memorandum on hydrogen was signed later.

Szijjártó now said that despite the energy crisis, the two countries have managed to guarantee a stable supply of energy thanks to their strategic cooperation and partnership. He thanked Serbia for acting as a reliable transit country for natural gas and offered it gas storage in Hungary for next winter.

Szijjártó: Power transmission lines are important because by 2030, new nuclear power plants will be online in Hungary

He added that the Southern Gas Corridor and the interconnection that is being built between Serbia and Bulgaria are important for Hungary.

Hungary has already started negotiations with Azerbaijan on the purchase of gas, but the deliveries depend on investments in the construction of new gas interconnectors and the expansion of existing ones.

Serbia and Hungary are working on doubling the capacity of the electricity transmission with Serbia by 2028, he said. It is important because Hungary hopes Paks 2 and Paks 3 would become operational within the nuclear power plant there, Szijjártó said, as quoted by the Ministry of Mining and Energy.

Hungary announced in August that it would start building the Paks 2 nuclear plant with Russia’s Rosatom, not far from the existing Paks nuclear plant, located less than a hundred kilometers from the border with Serbia.

Đedović: Cooperation in the oil, power, and green energy sectors

Đedović said the two countries have strengthened their partnership during the energy crisis and established strategic cooperation.

She expressed the belief the successful cooperation in the supply of natural gas should be a guide for other areas as well. The minister added that she discussed oil supply, the electric power system and renewable energy sources with her counterpart.

Serbia intends to diversify its oil supply so a pipeline project to connect it with Hungary is being prepared, in her words,

The country also plans to invest in the transmission grid, including the construction of the Pannonian Corridor, to increase cross-border capacity, Đedović said.

With the completion of the gas interconnector with Bulgaria, Serbia will become part of the Southern Gas Corridor, she noted.

It will improve Serbia’s energy security, but also create an opportunity for it to become a transit country for Azerbaijani gas, Đedović added.