The Energy and Mining minister of Bosnia's Republika Srpska (RS) entity, Petar Djokic, and the newly appointed Minister of Mining and Energy of Serbia, Dubravka Djedovic, agreed on Wednesday in Belgrade to continue all joint energy projects, the most important of which are the construction of the disputed "Buk Bijela" hydroelectric power plant (HPP) and the main gas pipeline from Serbia to Novi Grad.

After the meeting on the sidelines of the international conference “Sustainable development through responsible mining,” Djokic said that they agreed that all activities initiated earlier should be continued and that they should be intensified by activating the mixed committee formed several years ago.

He pointed out that this primarily refers to the construction of the “Buk Bijela” HPP, where “Elektroprivreda Srbije” and “Elektroprivreda RS” are partners in the implementation of this important energy project.

In July 2022, the BiH Constitutional Court issued a partial decision on admissibility and merits at the request of 24 Bosnian MPs on the concession for the HPP Buk Bijela. The BiH Concessions Commission was thus tasked with resolving the disputed issues between BiH and the Republika Srpska (RS) entity regarding the award of concessions within three months.

The MPs asked that the RS’ decision granting a concession for the construction of the HPP on the Upper Drina river be revoked. The appeal states that decisions regarding state property, such as rivers at international borders, can only be made at the BiH level.

Despite the appeal and clear position of the Attorney General's Office that the state could not be bypassed, the cornerstone was laid in mid-May this year in Foca for the Buk Bijela HPP.