ANKARA
Turkey is among the world’s top three countries with the largest afforestation area and is also one of the leading countries in combating erosion, First Lady Emine Erdogan said Thursday.
Erdogan made the remarks at a tree plantation ceremony in the “Forest of Blessings” project in Turkey’s capital Ankara. Ivory Coast president’s wife Dominique Vattara, Turkey’s Family and Social Policies Minister Aysenur Islam, Forestry and Water Minister Veysel Eroglu and his wife Hatice Eroglu also attended the event.
Ankara's Governor Mehmet Kiliclar, his wife Arzu Kiliclar, Ankara Mayor Melih Gokcek and his wife Nevin Gokcek also took part in the ceremony.
The first lady thanked everyone who took part in the project, which was taking place in all of Turkey’s 81 provinces.
“Our goal is to have at least 23 million hectares of forests by 2023,” she said, adding that with the support of the forestry and water ministry, afforestation areas in the country had reached 900,000 hectares within the last 10 years.
She also stated that this year 250 million more young trees were planted across the country, bringing the total number of trees planted to a total of 3.5 billion in the last 13 years.
The "Forest of Blessings" project aims to increase forestation and raise awareness among citizens to preserve green areas.
