Turkish first lady meets UN chief in New York

By Serife Cetin

NEW YORK (AA) - The Turkish First Lady, Emine Erdogan, met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York on Thursday during her visit for the International Day of Zero Waste.

The meeting was also attended by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, and Türkiye's Permanent Representative to the UN, Sedat Onal.

During the meeting, Guterres praised the Zero Waste Project, and first lady's contributions in fight against climate change.

The UN chief said that the Zero Waste Project will make an important contribution to the UN's millennium development goals to be announced in September.

The UN offered the first lady the chairmanship of the advisory board to be established in the context of zero waste.

At the meeting, Guterres acknowledged Türkiye's efforts in humanitarian issues, and sent his regards to the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

On Dec. 15, 2022, the UN General Assembly declared March 30 as International Day of Zero Waste in a landmark resolution presented by Türkiye along with 105 other countries.

The Zero Waste project was launched by first lady with the aim of highlighting the importance of zero waste in fighting the climate crisis.

Emine Erdogan, for her part, said that she believes the Zero Waste Project will be an important solution for the environmental problems.

She expressed gratitude to the UN for its support after the earthquakes that occurred in Türkiye on Feb. 6, and invited Guterres to the UN-Habitat World Cities Day event to be held in Istanbul on Oct. 31.