Skopje, 25 March 2026 (MIA) - Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski says he will initiate a regional initiative for joint energy investments potentially worth several billions of euros.

PM Mickoski told Alfa that the region could work together on attracting future energy investments, recalling on his recent participation at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

"Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency, said during a panel discussion I took part in that global energy needs in the coming decade are expected to rise but that electricity needs will rise 2.5 times faster than those of energy. The next decade will see a lack of nearly 40,000 TW of installed capacity worldwide, roughly the same as the United States, Canada, EU and Japan put together," says Mickoski.

If we as a country launch an initiative, he adds, it will maybe fly under the radar, but if we promote it as the Western Balkans region and attract, let's say 0.1 percent of those 40,000 TW, it amounts to 4 TW.

"The cost of one installed megawatt is US$ 1 million, which means that 4 TW amount to US$ 4 trillion. If we divide this to ten years, we come to US$ 400 billion per year. The current nominal GDP of the Western Balkans six is US$ 250 billion," says Mickoski.

The PM notes that the initiative has been discussed with his counterparts and wants the issue to be on the agenda of the next EU-Western Balkans meeting in Podgorica.

"Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Timcho Mucunski proposed the name SECI-Skopje Electricity Connectivity Initiative, with its inaugural meeting to take place here, at which we will put forward projects that would become part of that regional pool of projects offered to foreign investors. In this way, the region can send a political message that it can unite for a higher goal and work together," says Mickoski.

Photo: Government