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high-level event organized by the President of the 77 UN General Assembly on “zero waste”,
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which was attended by 105 co-hosts.

Zero Waste Advisory Board

The promotion of a zero-waste approach within the scope of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development has been decided by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly. In order to pro-
mote local and national zero-waste initiatives through sharing best practices and success sto-
ries, the UN Environment Programme and the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat)
discussed and decided to establish an advisory board consisting of distinguished individuals
based on voluntary contributions, knowledge, experience and expertise, in consultation with
member countries for a period of 3 years, taking into account gender balance and equitable
geographical representation. The Zero Waste Advisory Board, established as of 12 April 2023, will
be chaired by Mrs. Emine Erdoğan. UN Under-Secretary-General Guy Bernard Ryder has been
appointed as responsible for policy.

The Advisory Board, consisting of distinguished people in sustainability and waste management,
will share the stories of successful national and local zero waste initiatives, and governments
will be able to save money within the scope of zero waste targets and the circular economy
model, and global collaborations will be established for this purpose. The fact that Mrs. Emine
Erdoğan will be the pioneer in transforming the Zero Waste Movement, which has made a great
impact locally, into a global awareness, is an important breakthrough for both Türkiye, which
has made significant progress in establishing the Zero Waste System, and the world in general,
which is facing a difficult test in the fight against climate change.

Zero Waste in G20

Within the scope of the G20 meetings, of which India is the presidency, the Resolution No.
UN77/161 on the promotion of zero waste initiatives was referred to in the final document of the
G20 Environment and Climate Ministers Meeting and was unanimously accepted by all count-
ries. Zero Waste was emphasized by our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in his statements after
the G20 Leaders Summit held in New Delhi, the capital of India, in September 2023.

Zero Waste at the 78 UN General Assembly
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President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan touched upon the Zero Waste Movement in his speech at the
78 United Nations (UN) General Assembly in New York, USA. Stating that the Zero Waste Mo-
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vement initiated in Türkiye has been taken to a global level with the decision accepted by 105
countries in the United Nations, President Erdoğan signed the Global Zero Waste Goodwill Dec-
laration at the Türkiye. Stating that our Zero Waste targets will make significant contributions
to the fight against climate change and sustainable development efforts, President Erdoğan in-
vited all countries, international institutions and civil society organizations to support the Zero
Waste Movement.

October 31 World Cities Day
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Celebrated in a different city every year by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme
UN-Habitat, this year’s celebrations were hosted by Türkiye and the “World Cities Day” program
was organized in Istanbul. The event was attended by the wife of our President Recep Tayyip
Erdoğan, Mrs. Emine Erdoğan, UN Habitat Executive Director Maimunah Mohd Sharif, Minister of

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