First lady Emine Erdoğan met Wednesday with Le Thi Bich Tran, the wife of Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Sajidha Mohamed, the wife of the Maldives’ President Mohamed Muizzu.
The Zero Waste Project and steps for environmental conservation were discussed in the meetings.
Afterward, both Le Thi Bich Tran and Sajidha Mohamed signed the Global Zero Waste Declaration.
Highlighting that this year marks the 45th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between Türkiye and Vietnam, Erdoğan and Le Thi Bich Tran expressed hope that relations will continue to grow.
The Turkish first lady congratulated Sajidha Mohamed for Muizzu’s inauguration as Maldivian president on Nov. 17 and making their first overseas trip to Türkiye.
Mohamed thanked Erdoğan for her hospitality and praised her “inspiring work in empowering women,” on which she said they could work together.
The pair further highlighted the need to conduct joint efforts against the disproportionate impact of climate change on island nations.
In 2017, under the auspices of Emine Erdoğan, Türkiye launched the Zero Waste Project to highlight the importance of eliminating waste in fighting the climate crisis.
The project has drawn international praise, with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressing his gratitude to the first lady during a conference in New York in September.
Last December, the U.N. General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution on the zero waste initiative presented by Türkiye, declaring March 30 as the International Day of Zero Waste.
Later on social media platform X, Erdoğan informed she and the first ladies shared their sympathies over the “inhumane attacks against the Palestinian people” and said, “Our common hope is for permanent and sustainable peace to be established in the region as soon as possible.”
