The United States and Egypt have renewed their agreement to protect cultural properties for an additional five years. The agreement, signed by US Chargé d'Affaires Robert Silverman and Secretary-General of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities Dr. Hesham El-Leithy, restricts the importation of Egyptian antiquities into the US. This partnership provides a framework for cooperation between law enforcement agencies in both countries to safeguard cultural heritage.
Egypt was the first country in the Middle East to sign a cultural property protection agreement with the US in 2016, and it was renewed in 2021. This second renewal extends the partnership for a decade to protect one of the world's oldest and richest cultural legacies. Illicit trafficking of antiquities is not only a crime against history but also funds terrorist networks, drug trafficking, and human trafficking.
The agreement closes the US market to looted Egyptian artifacts, depriving criminal networks of a source of funding. It also helps authorities identify, investigate, and prosecute those involved. Over the past decade, US law enforcement agencies have returned more than 5,000 cultural artifacts to Egypt.
Among the repatriated artifacts are over 5,000 Coptic and Greek manuscripts and antiquities recovered with the FBI and US Department of Homeland Security. These were found to have been collected illegally. Other notable returns include the sarcophagus lid of "Ankh," a 26th dynasty priest over three meters long, and a stone slab from Hatshepsut's temple, which had been missing since 1930.
Earlier this year, the FBI and Homeland Security returned 48 artifacts to the Egyptian Consulate in Los Angeles. Over the next five years, the US and Egypt will expand their cooperation to protect archaeological sites, enhance partnerships between law enforcement agencies, and support cultural, scientific, and educational exchanges.
As a result of Egypt's cultural property protection agreement with the US, the country is eligible for grants from the US Department of State. The US Embassy in Cairo collaborated with the American Research Center in Egypt to support a project for the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities' central information system. This project aims to train museum staff in documenting and managing artifact collections.
The project also involves creating a unified system to track and protect artifacts in five major museums in the Greater Cairo area. These museums include the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir, the Grand Egyptian Museum, the Coptic Museum, the Museum of Islamic Art, and the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization.
Key points
- The agreement has led to the repatriation of over 5,000 Egyptian artifacts to Egypt.
- The partnership aims to combat illicit trafficking of Egyptian antiquities and protect cultural heritage.
- Egypt is eligible for US grants to support its cultural and scientific endeavors.
