Accompanied by Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga and her husband, Imants, Victor Yushchenko has visited a Ukrainian secondary school in Riga, President's press office reported.

The Head of State thanked the Latvian government for meeting the needs of Ukrainians residing in the republic. He assured his counterpart that our government was also ready to help and support Latvians in Ukraine.

“I am convinced that in our diverse world it is vital to preserve native language, literature and history in order to preserve nationalities,” he opined.

The Head of State said a special council to work with Ukrainians living abroad had been established in Ukraine and held its first meeting yesterday. He said its members had decided to give “passports of foreign Ukrainians” to hundreds of Ukrainians living abroad, including 144 Ukrainians in Latvia.

Mr. Yushchenko added that the government had also founded a special department within Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry to communicate and support Ukrainians abroad.

“We aim to help Ukrainian diasporas  profoundly integrate with Ukraine and adopt its way of life,” he said.

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