From 19 to 25 November 2009, the Delegation of the Assembly of Kazakhstan (DAK), headed by its vice-chairman and secretary Eraly Tugzhanov, visited the United States of America. During the visit, the representatives of the Assembly met with the members of the Congress, the representatives of the National Security Council, Government agencies, the Council of Columbia SC, the Institute of Central Asia and Caucasus, the organisation "Freedom House" and with the American Jewish Committee.

Mr Tugzhanov, in his meetings with the American representatives, presented a detailed information about the activities of the Assembly of Kazakhstan. Important subjects of each of the Delegation’s meetings were the toleration policies and their various aspects, as these policies have a direct influence on the development of any nation. In addition, Eraly Tugzhanov was interviewed by the UN Radio and other media agencies, in which he detailed the work of the Assembly of Kazakhstan and various activities of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the International and Interdenominational politics.

One of the heads of the American Jewish Committee Rabbi Andrew Becker stated that his organisation had the first-hand experience with Kazakhstan’s interethnic policies, which he was able to see during his visit to Kazakhstan.

He noted, "During the WWII, during the evacuation and mass repressions, many of our folk ended up in Kazakhstan, and survived only because of the help offered by the people of Kazakhstan. Recently I visited your country and I could do nothing but respect the country which not only provided the refugees with food and shelter, but also made everything to become their second home."

Andrew Becker also highly valued the activity of the Jewish community of Kazakhstan.

During his visit to Washington, Eraly Tugzhanov, together with several members of the Lower House of Parliament of Kazakhstan met with the representatives of the National Security Council of USA on the subjects of energy, security and democracy. In addition, the Delegation of the Assembly of Kazakhstan visited the Council of Columbia SC, where a film about international and interdenominational agreements in Kazakhstan was presented.

The visit also included performances by the Kazakh ensemble of national folk and ethnic instruments "Otyrar Sazy", which made a huge impression on the American audiences. Our artists were met with ovations at the George Washington University, at the Kennedy Centre in the capital city of USA and at the New York’s Lincoln Centre. Djamila Baspakova, the Honoured Artist of Kazakhstan, received especially loud applause. The ‘Bravo’ shouts were heard from the audience after each piece performed by our artists.

Ahmed Muradov, the manager of the Chechen Ethnic Community of Kazakhstan, and Alexandr Baron, the President of the Association of Jewish National Organisations of Kazakhstan "Mitsva" took an active part in working with the Delegation.

Alexandr Baron said, "In our difficult time, the questions of international and interdenominational agreements take a very important part in strengthening relationships and trust between all the countries of the world. I hope that the meetings between the Delegation of the Assembly of Kazakhstan, the members of Parliament of Kazakhstan and the public and government organisations of the United States will further strengthen trust and communication between our countries."

Based on materials of the newspaper "Kazahstanskaya Pravda"