Sponsored by the Slovenian investment promotion agency SPIRIT, representatives of six Slovenian companies, the Ajdovščina development agency and the National Council will be in the cities of Samara and Togliatti until Friday.

The six companies to be presented are sandblasting equipment maker FerroČrtalič, geo-information system developer GeoCodis, air ioniser maker Ionex, information technology company Mega M, access control services provider Prima Sistemi and engineering company Riko.

They will present their products and services, propose cooperation, and attend on Wednesday the business forum, which will focus on the opportunities to boost business cooperation and trade, with an emphasis on digitalisation, SPIRIT has announced.

With a population of over three million, the Samara Oblast is one of the most industrialised regions in Russia, traditionally known for the automotive industry (AvtoVAZ, Togliatti) and the aeronautics, rocket and space industry.

Also well developed in Samara are the information technology, energy, petrochemical and food industries and metallurgy, while there are also numerous opportunities for cooperation in agriculture, tourism and small aircraft production.

Since 2017, the region has been again recording economic growth and a significant trade surplus. Trade between Slovenia and the Samara Oblast amounted to US$13.2m last year, twice as much as in 2016, according to SPIRIT.