Iraq calls for international cooperation to recover smuggled artifacts

Shafaq News / Iraq's Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged international cooperation to recover smuggled Iraqi artifacts and halt their illicit trade. In a statement, the ministry emphasized, "The recovery of any part of our rich Iraqi history is a source of immense pride and happiness for all Iraqis.

We hope that the period during which the recently recovered Iraqi artifacts, which spanned more than ninety years, has served the scientific and knowledge research in our great cultural heritage by specialists."

The statement continued, "We look forward to the cooperation of all countries, institutions, and international organizations with Iraqi efforts to recover every artifact illegally removed from Iraq, stop the illicit trade in them, and reaffirm that the Iraqi government has been and continues to mobilize all its capabilities to recover the artifacts of Iraqi civilization that have been looted and exported throughout different periods. We will spare no effort in pursuing any piece around the world, as it is part of the Iraqi people's cultural heritage and their honorable civilizational product."

The ministry expressed its appreciation for the stance of the British government and the British Museum in collaborating on cultural and archaeological matters and acknowledged their positive role in assisting with the recovery of a significant number of artifacts in previous years.

On Friday, May 5, the Minister of Culture, Tourism, and Antiquities, Ahmed Fakak Al-Badrani, received 6,000 artifacts that had been loaned to the British Museum for study purposes since 1923, finally returning to the capital, Baghdad, after a century.