First Lady Emine Erdoğan visited the Topkapı Palace in Istanbul with the wives of the heads of state attending the Oct. 31 World Cities Day conference in the city Tuesday.

Erdoğan and her counterparts visited the various parts of the palace, including the chamber of the Sacred Trusts, the royal clothes and royal treasury rooms.

Malaysian Queen Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah, the wife of the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC)Ersin Tatar, Sibel Tatar, Gambia’s first lady Fatoumatta Bah Barrow, Albanian first lady Armanda Begaj, Senegalese first lady Marieme Faye Sall and others accompanied Emine Erdoğan during the visit.

Meanwhile, the Turkish first lady received U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Policy Guy Bernard Ryder.

Erdoğan welcomed Ryder, who was in Istanbul for the World Cities Day event, at the Topkapı Palace.

She shared information about the Zero Waste Foundation, which was established to strengthen the gains achieved through the Zero Waste Project at all levels.

Ryder highlighted the importance of the foundation within the U.N. framework and expressed the need for effective efforts in the field of zero waste over the upcoming three years.

Furthermore, he underscored the value of establishing a zero waste economy, demonstrating successful instances, and offering assistance for technical resources regarding it.

Ryder also expressed his belief that the Zero Waste Foundation would be effective in this regard and that it would collaborate with the U.N.

He suggested that the U.N. Zero Waste Advisory Board should hold two meetings per year, with one of them taking place in New York every September, and the location for the other meeting to be determined by the Turkish First Lady.

Erdoğan, in her response, expressed a desire to host the board members in Türkiye.