Iraq receives 9 artifacts from US

Baghdad-INA
The Presidency of the Republic announced on Thursday, that United States had handed over 9 artifacts to Iraq.

A statement by the Presidency of the Republic, received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), stated that, "With the blessing of the President of the Republic, Abdullatif Jamal Rashid, 9 Iraqi artifacts were handed over to the head of the Antiquities Authority, Laith Majeed Hussein, which had been received by the Embassy of the Republic of Iraq in Washington," noting that This came during the reception of the President of the Republic, today at the Baghdad Palace, the Minister of Culture and his accompanying delegation, which included the head of the Antiquities Authority, Laith Majid Hussein, and the Director General of Museums, Lama Yasser."

The statement added, "The recovered artifacts include seven seals from the Babylonian and Mesopotamian civilizations, received from the New York Attorney's Office; two ivory pieces resembling human faces, obtained from the FBI; and a clay tablet from the Middle Babylonian period, handed over by the National Security Investigations Office."


According to the statement, the President of the Republic referred to "the need to rehabilitate and reconstruct heritage buildings and former presidential palaces that suffer from clear neglect for the purpose of using them to serve tourism and antiquities," stressing "his support for a real partnership for the restoration and rehabilitation of museums and heritage buildings."

He pointed to "the need to pay attention to the National Museum for its international reputation, and to carry out rehabilitation and maintenance operations in a manner commensurate with international museums," referring to "a proposal to establish a center for Arab and Kurdish cultures to hold and organize cultural and educational workshops."

For his part, the Minister of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities thanked "the President of the Republic for bringing smuggled antiquities," explaining that "this indicates keenness to preserve the great heritage of Iraq's civilization."

He expressed his hope that "the President of the Republic would adopt the idea of holding an Arab-Kurdish poetry festival and opening a cultural house in Halabja that would attract poets, writers and musicians."