The first Forum of the mayors of cities in the Silk Road was held in Astana on July 02-03. Representatives of 60 countries, - among which the leaders of cities were presented, - entrepreneurs, experts in Chambers of commerce and industry, scientists and Nobel laureates took part in it. The Forum program included a number of roundtables and conferences, during which a variety of topics were discussed: from the successful design and implementation of "Smart city” projects to the cultural heritage of the Silk Road countries.

President of Kherson CCI Viktoria Ostroumova took part in the Forum at the invitation of the International Secretariat G-Global. During the plenary session, have taken place in the Palace of Peace and Zlagoda, the main reports were made. The team of the speakers was more than representative: Akim (Mayor) of Astana Aset Isekeshev, Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce Silk Road Li Zhonghang, UN Ambassador on Climate Change, Nobel Prize winner Rai Chung, Secretary General of the International Union of Public Transport Mohammed Mezghani, Court Registrar IFCA (International Financial Center of Astana) Christopher Campbell-Holt; the ex-President of Bulgaria, Chairman of the Center for Global Dialogue and Cooperation Peter Stoyanov took on the role of Moderator.

The topic of the Forum was chosen not by chance: present day dictates a new model of urban development based on human capital, innovation and high technology. And the participation of the first gynoid Sofia among the speakers demonstrated the relevance of the thesis "The Future is Today"! Robot Sophia is developed by the Hong Kong company “Hanson Robotics”; she has the skills of adapting to human behavior and communication with people, and, since October 2017, is subjected to Saudi Arabia and is the first gynoid that has acquired the citizenship of any country.

During the round table "Living and Sustainable Cities: Covering the Future through Innovation and Cooperation" Heads of Kazakhstan, India, China, Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, Estonia, France, Kyrgyzstan, Bulgaria, Hungary discussed the best practices and city innovations, what actions they have taken in order to better adaption to new technologies. 

During the panel session "Regional integration perspectives and Silk Road business interaction" there were discussed problems of competitiveness and development of international trade, the multi-vector of the Silk Road economic zone project, satisfying the interests of many countries.

At the meeting "Urban futures: investing in smart cities" the key issues were: "smart" specialization as the "smart city" architecture, "smart" 

At the meeting "Urban futures: investing in smart cities" the key issues were: "smart" specialization as the "smart city" architecture, "smart" health care, education, management and urban services, trends and technological platforms Big Data, new generation networks (5G) and so on.

Li Shuanghang, Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce “Silk Road”, said that is not just a transit transport project, but it is a comprehensive plan for the economic development of a number of states in the region, aimed at building close, complex relations in economic, political and humanitarian spheres. Also, the speakers in various sections of the Forum stressed the fact that the largest trend in the world today is the urbanization and development of large metropolises. The cities in the next 50-80 years will determine the economic progress of human civilization.

According to the results of the Forum, it is planned to establish a Club of the Silk Road cities Mayors, the Associations of businessmen, universities, journalists, poets of the Silk Road, as well as platforms for women's and youth organizations.

In addition to working at the Forum, representatives of the Kherson CCI met with the First Secretary of Economic Affairs of the Embassy of Ukraine in Kazakhstan to discuss ways of interregional cooperation developing, including the export of Kherson products to Kazakhstan.

elopment of a number of states in the region, aimed at building close, complex relations in economic, political and humanitarian spheres. Also, the speakers in various sections of the Forum stressed the fact that the largest trend in the world today is the urbanization and development of large metropolises. The cities in the next 50-80 years will determine the economic progress of human civilization.