Egypt’s Ambassador in Switzerland Hisham Seif Eddin received word from Swiss authorities that 26 small artifacts dating back to ancient Egypt will be handed back.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release on Wednesday that the antiquities included a statue of the god Anubis, an Ushabti statue, a number of smaller Ushabti statues and some Pharaonic amulets.
The recovery of the statues comes as a result of the efforts exerted by the Egyptian Embassy in Switzerland, the cultural sector of the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the General Department of Monuments of the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities in co-operation with the Swiss Federal Office for Cultural Affairs, the Swiss Federal Police and the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Ambassador Seif Eddin expressed the Egyptian Government’s appreciation for the efforts exerted by the Swiss authorities to return the Egyptian antiquities, hoping that the Swiss authorities would continue to coordinate with their Egyptian counterparts to return other antiquities.
It is worth noting that Egypt signed an agreement with Switzerland in 2010- that entered into force in 2011- to prevent illegal trafficking in cultural antiquities and return them to their homeland if found.
