Egypt: World’s first international conference on repatriation of antiquities


Monday, December 7, 2009

Egypt will host an international conference next March for countries seeking the return of ancient indigenous treasures being kept in foreign museums.

The secretary-general of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, Zahi Hawass, said the conference would be a world first.

”We expect around 12 countries to participate, possibly several more,” Dr Hawass said.

”There is a moral imperative for museums around the world to return certain artefacts to the countries they came from, and we are going to identify how we can help each other to increase the pressure on the keepers of those artefacts.”

Among those nations to attend will be Greece, Italy, China and Mexico.

The Sydney Morning Herald

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