A working meeting of directors of Chambers of commerce of Dnieper basin cities took place on December, 03-04 in Smolensk (Russia). Exactly in Smolensk. Indeed, the Dnieper river which is used to be named like a Great river by all the three Slavonic nations, comes up in the north-end of Valdai Hills near the Bocharovo Village of Sichevsky Disctrict of Smolensk Region. Arising from the Russian land, the Dnieper river discharges to Belorussia at first, and then to Ukraine.

In the times of Ancient Russia, this truly great river was named as Slavutich by our Slavonic ancestry. Ancients, following Herodotus, came to be call it Borisfen in V century B.C.E. Roman historians titled our river as Danapris. But anyway, from the earliest times Dnieper was a part of important trade channel, which connected the Baltic States and Black-Sea region (“Trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks”).

Dnieper is equally important for transport and economics of modern Ukraine. All of its water reservoirs are equipped by big sluices which afford shipboards to have access to Kiev Port and other Ukrainian ports, including Kherson. So a great transport corridor is created. Understanding the importance of Dnieper in the context of logistics and economics of Dnieper basin countries, business circles of Russia, Ukraine and Belorussia delegated their representatives to Smolensk. Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Ukraine in Russian Federation, Deputy Secretary of Council of National Security and Defense of Ukraine Konstantin Gryshenko, Senior Vice President of Russian Federation CCI Boris Pastukhov, Chairman of Moscow CCI Yuriy Kotov, State Duma's Deputy Sergey Belokonev, President of Smolensk CCI Vladimir Arkhipenkov, Vice-Chairman of Belorussia CCI Vasiliy Starovoytov, President of Kherson CCI Victoria Ostroumova, representatives of all the cities on the banks of Dnieper participated in the working meeting.

Welcoming the participants gathered, Governor of the Smolensk region Sergey Antufiev noted that the meeting organizers wisely decided to assemble it in the city of Smolensk. Because the region is an exceptional geographical position - it is located at the crossroads of major routes leading from the center of Russia to Belarus, the Baltic States, Eastern and Central Europe. More than 300 enterprises with foreign investments are working successfully in Smolensk Region. 93 of them are Russian-Belorussian joint ventures. A joint working group of regional administration and the Ministry of Transport and Communications of the Republic of Belarus addressing the revival of navigation on the river Dnieper within the Smolensk region began its work. Only 9 months of 2009 trade between Smolensk region and the Republic of Belarus amounted to more than 400 million U.S. Dollars.

A huge unexposed potential in Dnieper basin zone have bilateral economic relations with Ukrainian regions. Economical cooperation between Smolensk region and Ukrainian regions is only beginning to develop, but foreign trade turnover for the 9 months of this year amounted to about U.S. $ 60 million. Ukraine has always taken second place after the Republic of Belarus between trade partners of the region. According to the Deputy Chief of International Relations, Regional Cooperation and Tourism Department of Smolensk Region Vladislav Kononov, a direction which could form the basis for international cooperation is already clear today. They are tourism, development of cultural and cognitive tourism and religious pilgrimage. This direction is seeing to be important because Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill gave his blessing to the creation of the All-Russia regional pilgrimage center in advance of the anniversary of the 1150 of Smolensk.

Topics of Dnieper ecology provoked not less keen interest. They were proposed as top-priority topics by Kherson CCI representatives. Problems and prospects of their solution raised by the First Ecological Forum “Clear City. Clear River. Clear Planet” in Kherson, which is placed in great river estuary, were positively perceived by the meeting participants. It is quite obvious that the realization of such projects as cleaning the riverbed around the Dnieper, protection of recreation area of the Dnieper region, development of “green”, sport and youth ecological tourism in turn will enable not only creating new workplaces, but also improving the overall life quality of Dnieper basin countries inhabitants.

On the Second Ecological Forum which will take place in Kherson, November, 2010, all the delegations are ready to prepare and to present their own new projects of ecological cooperation. Smolensk meeting participants comprehensively discussed a current situation and prospects of trade-economical, humanitarian and cultural links between the brotherhood nations, and also outlined practical steps to development of mutually beneficial cooperation of business circles. A key point of meeting of heads of Chambers of Commerce in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus at the Smolensk land was signing up the protocol of establishing the Association of Chambers of Commerce of Dnieper Basin (the Dnieper region).

According to meeting participants, creating the Association is an important step in the anti-crisis events link because establishing cooperation links between brotherhood nations will remove artificial barriers, contribute to further strengthening of regional and international trade-economical, cultural and social relations of the Slavic countries.

Besides, accompanied by warmly welcoming Smolensk hosts, delegations of Kherson and Kiev regions visited home grounds of Grigory Potemkin, a statesman, His Serene Highness the Prince of Tauris, brilliant cavalier Russian and foreign decorations, General-Field Marshal. Bearing in mind that it is Grigory Potemkin whom Kherson city owes its birth, the Kherson delegation familiarized with the local history museum of Dukhovshchina city, held creative meetings with historians and biographers of Potemkin, visited the Chizhovo village, where once was one of the family estates of Potemkin family. It was there the founder of the Black Sea Fleet was born on September, 30, 1739. Development and strengthening of the northern Black-Sea region took place under his leadership. The delegation was pleased by the fact that after the 200-year oblivion the work of ethnographers and historians of Smolensk region around the legendary countryman's name has been much reanimated during the recent years. A plan of Chizhovo village since 1778 appeared, a memorial stone was settled, a project of the monument to the Highness was developed, a King's Well was restored, Grigory Potemkin birthday celebration became traditional in Chizhovo. That's why a desire of Smolensk local historians to work more closely with colleagues in Kherson is quite understandable.

In terms of humanitarian cooperation, which were discussed during the visit, were both mutual consultations, creating a touristic route and establishing business partnership relations. The goal of them will be not only recovering the historical member but also achievement of both regions economical development, which are forever linked by the name of the great 18 th century reformer Grigory Potemkin.