SARAJEVO, March 8 (FENA) – The US Government has been supporting the energy sector of Bosnia and Herzegovina for more than two decades and remains your partner in order for this country to step into a cleaner energy future based on renewable energy sources, said today the USAID Assistant Administrator for Europe and Eurasia Erin McKee.
Today, McKee officially opened the ”Winter School on Energy Transition” at the School of Economics and Business of the University of Sarajevo (EFSA) together with the FBiH Minister of Education and Science of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Jasna Duraković, the FBiH Minister of Energy, Mining and Industry Vedran Lakić and the Dean of EFSA Meliha Bašić.
McKee stated that the Winter School was the result of an innovative partnership between the US Government, through the USAID Energy Policy Activity (USAID EPA) project and the University of Sarajevo, and gathered students from business, law, engineering and other sectors to develop top skills that would lead Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region towards a cleaner, safer energy future.
”In this way, BiH’s dependence on any country in terms of energy supply will be reduced. In addition to energy independence, this way opens the possibility for new, well-paid jobs in a very important sector. I am happy that I can consider the students, participants of the winter school, as a new generation of leaders who will enable a better future for this country,” said McKee.
The FBiH Minister of Education and Science of BiH, Jasna Duraković, pointed out that the energy transition is not only a technical issue, but also an economic, social and political issue for all of us and our way of life, which requires a multidisciplinary approach.
”I must also emphasize that one of the first decisions I made as minister was to include the green agenda and energy transition in the priorities of the Ministry’s work, because these topics should be treated both through education and science,” said Duraković.
FBiH Minister of Energy, Mining and Industry Vedran Lakić first congratulated International Women’s Day and expressed his gratitude to all those who made the Winter School project possible.
EFSA Dean Meliha Bašić said that these are our small steps in a positive story that we all have to follow when it comes to our future, in one part that concerns the energy transition.
She added that the Winter School gathered 34 students from all over Bosnia and Herzegovina and the countries of the region, who in this way create a network and acquire the necessary knowledge and skills.
