Russia's Ulyanovsk Oblast proposes that Belarus organize a joint venture and set up production of "Union State machine tools." This was reported to journalists by Governor of Russia's Ulyanovsk Oblast Alexey Russkikh following a meeting with President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, according to a BELTA correspondent.

According to him, the meeting discussed several initiatives with which representatives of the business community of the Russian region arrived at the INNOPROM exhibition in Minsk.

"We propose creating a joint venture to produce the Union State machine tool on the basis of the Ulyanovsk Machine-Tool Plant together with a Belarusian machine-tool holding company," said Alexey Russkikh.

He explained that previously the plant in Russia had hosted an enterprise of the German-Japanese concern DMG MORI, but after sanctions were imposed, the company left Ulyanovsk Oblast. "The new management team resumed production of machine tools. Now I can proudly say that they have become much more precise than the German-Japanese ones," the regional head noted.

A decision has now been made to create a working group with the Belarusian side that will determine the main directions: which specific machine tools to assemble, what is most in demand and sought after on domestic and foreign markets.

Another promising proposal concerns the Belarusian Railway, namely the repair and supply of track machines. One of the Ulyanovsk companies produces such special equipment. "Alexander Grigoryevich promised to give appropriate instructions so that we could study this topic more deeply," the governor said.

"I am confident that these two areas are growth points in further relations between Ulyanovsk Oblast and Belarus," he stressed.

As reported by BELTA, trade and economic cooperation between Belarus and Russia's Ulyanovsk Oblast has been developing dynamically in recent years. Belarusian exports to the region are constantly growing. For example, in 2021 they amounted to about $32 million, in 2023 they grew to $44.3 million, and by the end of 2025 they almost reached $80 million. Belarus mainly supplies particle boards, radiators, air heaters made of ferrous metals and their parts, air conditioning units, and electronic integrated circuits.

Bilateral trade turnover also shows positive dynamics: $97.2 million in 2024 and more than $125 million in 2025 (a 29% increase).