Türkiye’s First Lady Emine Erdoğan met Pope Leo XIV at the Apostolic Palace on 3 July, urging the Vatican and the wider Christian world to voice stronger support for a permanent Gaza cease-fire and wider recognition of a Palestinian state. According to Turkish presidential officials, the pontiff reiterated the Holy See’s backing of a two-state solution and said he is considering a visit to Türkiye later this year. Erdoğan was in Vatican City to address the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences’ session on “Ethical Multilateralism,” where she repeated President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s UN-reform call that “the world is bigger than five.” In her speech she criticised global inequality, highlighted rising Islamophobia and intolerance, and argued that countries cannot tackle overlapping crises alone. The First Lady also promoted Türkiye’s UN-endorsed Zero Waste environmental programme as a potential area for cooperation with the Holy See. Pope Leo agreed that climate change requires joint action, presidential sources said.