Russia’s Tula Oblast and Belarus have established good cooperation but there is a significant potential to take it further, Governor of Tula Oblast Dmitry Milyaev told the media after a meeting with Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko in Minsk on 5 November, BelTA  learned.

Dmitry Milyaev stressed that partnership relations have been established between Belarus and Tula Oblast and that the cooperation is gradually gaining movement. The major industries that are the backbone of the cooperation are the chemical industry, mechanical engineering, metallurgy and the military-industrial complex. "In this regard, we have generally good indicators. This year we have a growing trade. Dynamics has been very good," the governor said.

As for the defense industry, he said “there are certain interests here,” and first of all, they are related to the development of production cooperation. In particular, the Belarusian Precision Electromechanics Plant fulfills its contractual obligations to supply hull and mechanical parts for the Russian NPO Splav. The company also has a project with MAZ for the production of special vehicles. Contracts were signed on the supply of 15 units of Belarusian machinery.

“A number of agreements have already been reached. We will move forward in this direction,” Dmitry Milyaev said. As part of the visit of the Russian delegation the heads of the enterprises NPO Splav, Tula Patron Plant, NPO Militekh will pay visits to the organizations that are part of the State Authority for Military industry of Belarus.

The governor emphasized that the Tula delegation comprises representatives of 34 Tula enterprises of various sectors from food industry to mechanical engineering. "This is a large business mission," he noted. The delegation also includes members of government of Tula Oblast who are responsible for economy, industry, agriculture, and public transport. "These are the very areas in which we cooperate more productively and have a true potential for further enhancing," Dmitry Milyaev emphasized.

Mutual trade is evidence of this. In 2023, it amounted to about $500 million, including over $230 million of Belarusian exports, which grew by nearly 35% over 2022.

In January-August 2024, mutual trade in goods totaled $414 million, increasing by over 37% year-on-year. Exports surged by 54%, reaching $195 million.

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