The key facts

  • Emine Erdogan met with Sajidha Mohamed, wife of the President of the Maldives, in Antalya
  • COP31 opened on Monday and will run until November 20; Turkey is hosting the conference for the first time
  • 196 parties and the EU are taking part in the summit; the leaders' summit has gathered more than 100 heads from 95 countries

Meeting of First Ladies on the Sidelines of the Climate Summit

In Antalya, where Turkey is hosting the UN climate change conference COP31 for the first time, the wife of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Emine Erdogan, met with the First Lady of the Maldives, Sajidha Mohamed, the wife of President Mohamed Muizzu. She spoke about the meeting on the Turkish social platform NSosyal, emphasizing shared responsibility for protecting nature regardless of geographical differences.

What Is Known About the Summit

The conference opened in Antalya on Monday and will run until November 20, bringing together 196 parties and the European Union. On Wednesday and Thursday, President Erdogan is holding the leaders' summit, attended by more than 100 leaders representing 95 countries across six continents, as well as seven international organizations. The Maldives — an island nation particularly vulnerable to climate change — is represented at the conference at the presidential level, which gives the meeting of the first ladies a symbolic character: Sajidha Mohamed herself, according to Emine Erdogan, is in Turkey 'on the occasion of COP31'.