Final preparations are underway for the third Belgrade Energy Forum, BEF 2025. Energy Community Secretariat Director Artur Lorkowski and Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Đedović Handanović will open the event. One of the key speakers is Director Christian Zinglersen of the EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER). The ministerial panel consists of ministers and representatives of the governments of Montenegro, Croatia, Hungary, Serbia and the Republic of Srpska, which is one of the two entities making up Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Senior delegations from the European Union and five countries in the region, eight panel discussions and more than 50 distinguished speakers – energy experts and representatives of energy companies – all prove that the third Belgrade Energy Forum (BEF 2025) will host key stakeholders in Southeast Europe’s energy transition on May 14 and 15.
The conference, organized by the region’s leading energy portal Balkan Green Energy News, will be the meeting point of the representatives of regional and international institutions and organizations as well as the representatives of the business community from the region, Europe and the world. Register in time via this link.
The participants in the first panel at BEF 2025, called ‘High-ministerial panel on SEE regional cooperation and energy transition strategies’, are:
- Petar Đokić, Minister of Energy and Mining, Government of Republic of Srpska
- Admir Šahmanović, Minister of Energy and Mining, Government of Montenegro
- Dr. Illés Boglárka, State Secretary for Bilateral Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Government of Hungary
- Jovana Joksimović, Assistant Minister, Ministry of Mining and Energy, Republic of Serbia
- Marija Pujo Tadić, Special Envoy for Climate Action, Government of the Republic of Croatia
- Dario Liguti, Director, Sustainable Energy, UNECE
Director of EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) Christian Zinglersen will deliver one of the keynote speeches. It is one of the European Union’s most important institutions in the energy sector. He is coming to BEF 2025 at a very important moment for the Energy Community contracting parties and the transposition of the EU’s energy regulations into national law.
Đedović Handanović: The energy transition knows no borders
Ahead of her participation at BEF 2025, Minister Dubravka Đedović Handanović stressed that the energy transition knows no borders and that it is why regional cooperation is of key importance.
“I am glad that energy experts from the entire region will convene in Belgrade, as only through a coordinated approach we can secure a more stable energy market, faster decarbonization and greater investments in renewable energy sources,” Đedović Handanović stated.
In addition to participating in the high-ministerial panel, Montenegrin Minister of Energy and Mining Admir Šahmanović will hold several bilateral meetings in Belgrade.
Šahmanović: The goal is not only clean energy, but just transition as well
“The energy transition is not just a technical challenge – it is a development opportunity and a civilizational leap. For the Western Balkans it is a chance for us to build an economy based on sustainability, connectivity and responsibility toward future generations. Montenegro believes that a successful transition depends on our capability to act together – through the planning of joint capacities, exchanging green energy surpluses and a coordinated approach toward partners and investors”, he said.
Šahmanović underscored that the goal is not only clean energy, but also a just transition – one that creates jobs, lowers poverty and brings growth to every part of the region. “We are ready to be a reliable partner in that joint future,” he added.
Đokić: Through joint efforts to an energy future that is economically stable, environmentally acceptable and socially responsible
The Ministry of Energy and Mining of the Republic of Srpska is again an institutional partner of BEF 2025, which, in the words of Minister Petar Đokić, represents proof of the ministry’s dedication to promoting energy sustainability, improvement of regional cooperation and attracting investments in the energy sector.
“The ministry and I have been actively contributing from the start to the work and discussions of this significant event, which gathers the most important players in the energy sector – institutions, investors, experts and other stakeholders. The forum stands out as a platform bolstering the exchange of ideas and experiences, and the results of these discussions contribute to identifying concrete solutions for challenges in energy,” Đokić pointed out.
He expressed confidence that joint efforts can result in the creation of an energy future that is economically stable, environmentally acceptable and socially responsible.