During a Monday meeting between Chelyabinsk Oblast Gov. Boris Dubrovsky and Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, the former courted the latter's industrial developers to help with building a new foundry facility in Chelyabinsk.

“We invite Belarusian investors to cooperate,” Dubrovsky said.

Trade between this region and Belarus amounted to approximately $314.6 million in 2014, the Belarus Press Service said.

“We would like to increase the volume of mutual investments and trade," Dubrovsky said. "We believe that we have all the tools for it."

Dubrovsky also will meet with representatives from Minsk-based company MZOR, which focuses on highly industrial and mechanical production. The governor also said there are plans for the new plant to partner with a machine-building cluster in the region. Along with this was the invitation for Belarus investors to participate. 

The region is a large buyer of Belarus equipment, with 50 percent of its agriculture vehicles coming from Belarus companies.