First lady Emine Erdoğan discussed environmental issues with the head of the U.N.’s climate conference, as she highlighted Türkiye’s continued support to Azerbaijan.

The first lady met with Mukhtar Babayev, the head of the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, more commonly known as COP29 in the capital Ankara. Babayev also happens to be Azerbaijan’s environment minister.

Noting that he would also hold discussions with the Turkish ministries of forestry, environment, and energy, Babayev expressed pleasure about cooperation with Türkiye.

The first lady, known for her pioneering role in the Zero Waste movement, congratulated Babayev and said Türkiye would continue to support Azerbaijan.

In a social media post following the meeting, Emine Erdoğan expressed her appreciation for COP29, which she said was one of the most important international summits on the climate crisis, being organized in Azerbaijan.

In 2017, under the auspices of the first lady, Türkiye launched a zero-waste project to highlight the importance of eliminating waste in fighting the climate crisis.

The first lady received a Climate and Development Leadership Award from the World Bank for her Zero Waste project contributing to the fight against climate change and supporting sustainable development.