A delegation from the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) led by the Deputy Chairman of the State Assembly, paid an official visit to Gomel Oblast. One of the areas of bilateral relations is youth outreach. At a meeting at the Francisk Skorina Gomel State University the parties discussed the joint implementation of the landmark youth project "Memory Watch: Rzhev-Far East" involving Gomel students and college students. During the visit the delegation from Yakutia accepted an invitation to the 20th Gomel Economic Forum, which will be held in May. The guests also visited the village of Derazhichi in Loyev District, home to a military cemetery where more than two thousand Soviet soldiers are buried. The first Hero of the Soviet Union from the Sakha people, Fyodor Popov, is buried in a mass grave.