Turkish first lady meets head of UN-Habitat

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) – Turkish first lady Emine Erdogan met Maimunah Mohd Sharif, executive director of the UN Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat), in Istanbul.

In a meeting at the Huber Villa on Friday, Sharif conveyed her condolences to the Turkish nation over the deadly Feb. 6 earthquakes, which have now claimed more than 44,200 lives and affected more than 13 million people in the country’s southern parts.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes were centered in Kahramanmaras and struck 10 other provinces – Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Elazig, Hatay, Gaziantep, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Sanliurfa.

Sharif said UN-Habitat has teams working in the affected regions and stands ready to support reconstruction efforts.

She also invited Erdogan to inaugurate the International Zero Waste Day on March 30 in New York, as well as deliver a keynote address at the UN-Habitat General Assembly in Nairobi, Kenya on June 5-8.

Led by Erdogan, Türkiye launched the zero waste project in 2017, drawing widespread international recognition, including from UN chief Antonio Guterres.

Last December, the UN General Assembly unanimously adopted Türkiye’s resolution to declare March 30 as the International Day of Zero Waste.