Congresswoman Matsui to Travel to Kiev as Part of Congressional Delegation to Europe
Wednesday, July 3, 2007
Congresswoman Doris O. Matsui (CA-05) will travel to the Ukraine this week with the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe. While in Europe, Rep. Matsui will join Commission Chairmen Alcee Hastings (D-FL) and Senator Benjamin Cardin (D-MD), as well as House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and a number of other Members of Congress, in seeking to build bilateral relations with through discussion and exchange.
As part of this bipartisan delegation, Rep. Matsui will attend the 16th Annual Session of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly. The session will focus primarily on regional security concerns, including energy, migration, corruption, democratic development, and election standards.
An additional focus of the Parliamentary Assembly will be on human rights issues affecting the OSCE region, including protection of minorities, press freedom, and human trafficking. These topics will be a main focus for Rep. Matsui and her American counterparts for the duration of their trip to Kiev, during which the delegation plans to meet with officials from the Ukrainian, Russian, and Kazakh governments.
The delegation also plans to travel to Chernobyl and visit the area where on April 26, 1986, the fourth reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded. This site visit will give the American delegation a chance to discuss pressing energy and environmental issues that impact the international community.
Rep. Matsui and her Congressional colleagues will depart from the United States on July 4th. They will be in the Ukraine between the 5th and 9th of July, with their return home scheduled to coincide with the resumption of legislative business in the House of Representatives on July 10th.
