Dozens of smuggled ancient Chinese coins in Alexandria, Egypt
CAIRO, Nov 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Egypt’s Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Khaled Al-Anani, handed over 100 stolen antique coins to the ambassadors of China, India, and Saudi Arabia.
It came on the sidelines of a ceremony to celebrate the 118th anniversary of the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir.
Al-Anani handed over 65 stolen coins to the Saudi Ambassador in Cairo, including gold and metal coins, which were seized at the Cairo International Airport. The other recovered artefacts included 31 Chinese coins and 4 Indian coins.
During his speech, Al-Anani stressed that Egypt is not only preserving its cultural heritage, but also the whole world’s heritage.
For his part, the Saudi Ambassador praised the Egyptian authorities for their efforts to prevent smuggling the antique coins.
The Chinese ambassador Liao Liqiang described receiving these coins on behalf of the Chinese government as a great honour.
He pointed out that this is the second time that Egypt returns Chinese antique coins, wishing for more cooperation between the two countries in fighting illegal trade of antiquities.
He added that the ancient coins delivered to the Embassy can date back to the Han Dynasty (202 B.C. – A.D. 220).
In 2010, China and Egypt signed an agreement on the protection and return of stolen cultural property illegally trafficked from the country of origin, Liao noted.
The Political Counsellor of Indian Embassy, on behalf of the Ambassador, thanked the Egyptian Minister for handing over those coins of Indian origin.
The US Ambassador in Cairo was also present in the ceremony. He pointed out that the US government is undertaking a project to preserve the heritage of Egypt, as it has preserved 600 important documents dating back to the ancient Egyptian civilization. There is a project to preserve ancient Egyptian coffins as well as restore them. — NNN-AGENCIES