''We are changing the energy map of Europe. The interconnector is a guarantee for diversification and security'', Bulgaria’s President Rumen Radev said at the commissioning ceremony of the Bulgaria-Serbia Gas Interconnector (IBS) in Nis.

"The Bulgaria-Serbia gas interconnector will diversify Serbia's gas supply sources and will strengthen the country's national security. We will also be able to buy gas on the free market", Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said at the ceremony.

The President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said that his country would double gas exports by 2027.

The ceremony took place in the town of Nis, where the gas pipeline ends. It starts from Novi Iskar near Sofia and is 170 kilometres long. The interconnector has the capacity of 1.8 billion cubic metres of gas per year. It gives Bulgaria access to natural gas sources in Central Europe via a new route. The pipeline provides Serbia with access to the Southern Gas Corridor and enables the delivery of gas from LNG terminals in Greece and Turkiye.