Washington- Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL) and Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), Co-Chairmen of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (U.S. Helsinki Commission), who are leading a bipartisan Congressional delegation in Kazakhstan, will hold a press conference with U.S. Ambassador John M. Ordway on Tuesday, July 1 at 10:30 a.m. at the Radisson SAS Hotel in Astana.
The Members of Congress that are traveling with the delegation are U.S. Helsinki Commissioners Representatives Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ), Mike McIntyre (D-NC), Robert B. Aderholt (R-AL), Hilda Solis (D-CA) and G.K. Butterfield (D-NC) as well as Representatives Zach Wamp (R-TN), Loretta Sanchez (D-CA), Diane Watson (D-CA), Madeleine Bordallo (D-GU), and Gwen Moore (D-WI). This is the largest U.S. Congressional delegation to ever visit Kazakhstan, which will be Chairman-in-Office (CiO) of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in 2010.
During the press conference, the delegation is expected to discuss U.S.-Kazakh relations, Kazakhstan’s Chairmanship of the OSCE in 2010, energy security, human rights issues and regional issues of concern to the OSCE community.