First ladies of Türkiye, Republic of Congo discuss zero-waste project

By Yildiz Nevin Gundogmus

ANKARA (AA) – Turkish first lady Emine Erdogan and Congolese first lady Antoinette Sassou N'Guesso discussed Türkiye's zero-waste project on Thursday.

Erdogan hosted N'Guesso at the presidential complex in the capital Ankara, where they also discussed joint efforts on environment-related issues.

Türkiye's first lady conveyed her congratulations to N'Guesso on the ban on the use of plastic bags, which came into force in the Republic of Congo last year.

In 2017, under the auspices of Erdogan, 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 UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressing his gratitude to Türkiye's first lady during a conference in New York last September.

Last December, the UN General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution on the zero-waste initiative presented by Türkiye, declaring March 30 as the International Day of Zero Waste.

N'Guesso, for her part, said that she closely follows Erdogan's social works.

Erdogan carries out "inspiring" projects on environmental issues, especially the zero-waste project, said N'Guesso, who invited Türkiye's first lady to the Republic of Congo to be the main speaker for the summit of the three basins of biodiversity ecosystems and tropical forests to be held in the capital Brazzaville on Oct. 26-28.

*Written by Diyar Guldogan