Turkish, Maldivian first ladies share sorrow for Palestine

WASHINGTON

Turkish first lady Emine Erdogan and her Maldivian counterpart Sajidha Mohamed shared their sorrow Monday for Palestine amid Israel’s "inhumane" attacks against the Palestinian people.

"Our common hope is to establish a permanent and sustainable peace in the region as soon as possible," Erdogan wrote on X after meeting with Mohamed in the Turkish capital Ankara.

Erdogan said they also exchanged views on the fields of education, culture, environment and women's empowerment.

She also thanked Mohamed, who signed the Global Zero Waste Declaration of Goodwill on the occasion of the visit, for her promise to popularize zero waste practices in Maldives.

"I hope that the friendship between our countries will be permanent," she added.

In 2017, under the auspices of first lady Emine 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 the 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.