The Egyptian state succeeded in retrieving two archaeological statues from Belgium, after they were illegally expelled from Egypt, within the framework of Egypt’s relentless efforts to restore Egyptian antiquities smuggled abroad and the great interest of the Egyptian state and its institutions to preserve its heritage and civilized history, and the role played by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Attorney General’s Office, in the field of recovering smuggled Egyptian antiquities, and in continuation of the continuous efforts undertaken by the Egyptian Embassy in Brussels with theaters and the competent Belgian authorities to retrieve Egyptian artifacts that came out of the country illegally. How many artifacts have been recovered since 2014?
In this regard, we contacted Shaaban Abdel Gawad, General Supervisor of the Administration of Recovered Antiquities, who revealed to us that the artifacts recovered 7 years ago are a great outcome in return for the efforts of the state, which removes all obstacles in the way of restoring the ancient civilizational heritage. More than 29,000 artifacts.
As for the two Belgium statues, Shaaban Abdel-Gawad explained that the two statues consist of a colorful limestone statue of a standing man resting on a base dating back to the era of the Old Kingdom, and another small statue of "ushabti" made of faience from the late era.
The General Supervisor of the Department of Recovered Antiquities indicated that the events of recovering these two statues date back to 2016, when the Belgian authorities seized the two statues in an exhibition for the sale of antiquities in Belgium. The Egyptian General and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs A request for judicial assistance was sent to the Belgian authorities in this regard until a judicial decision was issued to return the two statues to the Egyptian government.
Khaled El-Baqly, Egypt’s ambassador to Belgium, handed over the two statues in a ceremony organized by the Belgian Ministry of Economy in accordance with the precautionary measures applied to confront the “Corona” virus, and the Deputy Prime Minister, the Belgian Minister of Economy and Labor, in addition to a number of Belgian government officials participated in the celebration.
Ambassador Khaled El-Baqly, in his speech during the event, expressed the importance of this event as it represents a tangible step that expresses the distinguished relations between Egypt and Belgium, and paves the way for more coordination on various areas of joint cooperation, especially the issues of recovering smuggled Egyptian antiquities.
The Egyptian ambassador in Brussels also invited the friendly Belgian people to visit the tourist destinations in Egypt and learn closely about the history of the ancient Egyptian civilization that was built on the banks of the Nile River, and has long represented a tributary of science, culture and art worldwide and throughout history.
Sun, Oct. 3, 2021
