Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
Ambassador Ahmed Abu Zeid, Egypt's Ambassador to Belgium, received two Egyptian artifacts, in preparation for their return to the homeland. The ceremony was held at the Museum of Art and History in Brussels, with high-level representatives from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Economy, the Belgian Public Prosecutor's Office, a number of Egyptology experts and those interested in ancient Egyptian civilization, and the media.
According to the Egyptian Embassy's official website, this comes within the framework of ongoing cooperation and coordination between the Egyptian Embassy in Brussels and the Belgian Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Economy, as well as the Belgian Public Prosecutor's Office, which recently resulted in the recovery of two Egyptian artifacts. One is a valuable wooden coffin dating back to the Ptolemaic period (between the third and first centuries BC) inscribed with gilded inscriptions and drawings, and the other is the beard of a wooden statue dating back to the ancient Egyptian civilization. In his speech at the celebration, Ambassador Abu Zeid expressed his happiness at the return of these two precious pieces to Egypt, noting the high priority that both the Egyptian government and people attach to the issue of repatriating smuggled Egyptian antiquities. He thanked the Belgian authorities for their cooperation with the Egyptian side in recovering these two pieces. The Egyptian ambassador highlighted the two pieces' representation of the creativity of Egyptian civilization throughout the ages, expressing his aspiration to continue working with the Belgian side to enhance cooperation in the field of repatriating antiquities and raising awareness of the importance of combating the illicit trafficking of cultural property, which represents a shared human heritage for the entire world. He emphasized Egypt's commitment to repatriating all its smuggled antiquities, in accordance with the provisions of the 1970 UNESCO Convention.