OREANDA-NEWS. June 5, 2008. The cooperation agreement on religions and national minorities was signed in Kyiv by Commissioner for Religious and Ethnic Affairs of Belarus Leonid Gulyako and chairman of Ukraine’s State Committee for Nationalities and Religions Alexander Sagan.

According to the agreement and in conformance with the active legislation of the two countries the sides undertake to support public organizations representing interests of national minorities, to encourage the measures, which aim to preserve ethnic, cultural and lingual identity, to exchange information and experience in international, state-church and interdenominational relations.

The intergovernmental cooperation agreement was signed in July, 1999, and was prolonged in August, 2001.

Leonid Gulyako is in Kyiv on june4-5 on a working trip. He is scheduled to meet with the seniour officials and representatives of the All-Ukrainian Union of Belarusians. Leonid Gulyako and his Ukrainian counterpart will give a press conference.

One of the largest national minorities in Ukraine is Belarusians, which makes up 275,800 (population census in Ukraine in 2001).