Russia's Bashkortostan seeks closer industrial cooperation with Belarus

A delegation of Bashkortostan visited Belarus at the end of 2021, and these days we are hosting a Belarusian delegation, he noted. "Following the visit to Belarus, our enterprises such as BelZAN (the largest manufacturer of fastening products) are already supplying their products to Minsk Tractor Works, Minsk Automobile Plant. About 80 tonnes and 70 tonnes of fasteners are supplied to these companies every month, respectively. These are quite good results,” Aleksandr Sheldyaev noted. "These days in Ufa, the industrial enterprises of Bashkortostan are showcasing their opportunities for cooperation with Belarusian factories."

Work is now underway on charting cooperation with AMKODOR and Atlant, he said. The Beloretsk springs plant is gearing up to supply its goods to Belarus.

According to Aleksandr Sheldyaev, industrial cooperation is now the priority for the region. "One of the largest enterprises in the machine tool industry is growing fast. If our countries make a joint cluster on this front (the documents are already being prepared), then this will be the biggest breakthrough for machine tool building not only in Russia, but also in Belarus," he said.

During the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that from 1 January 2023, the main support at the federal level will go to clusters. Industrial, machine building, aviation and machine tool clusters are being created," Aleksandr Sheldyaev noted. He stressed that industrial cooperation between Belarus and Russia allows extracting the maximum benefit for the states.

The Belarusian government delegation headed by the prime minister is visiting Ufa and Kazan from 20 to 22 September. The Belarusian delegation included representatives of various ministries and departments, heads of such Belarusian enterprises as MTZ, MAZ, Belkommunmash, AMKODOR and Horizont.