10,000 artifacts returned during the current government’s term

Baghdad - INA

The General Authority for Antiquities and Heritage announced today, Thursday, the return of 10,000 artifacts during the term of the current government, while confirming the existence of coordination and efforts to facilitate the granting of Iraqi visas, which will contribute to increasing the number of Arab and foreign tourists coming to Iraq.

The head of the authority affiliated with the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities, Ali Obeid Shalgam, told the Iraqi News Agency (INA): “Since the formation of this government, we have begun to recover antiquities that were looted outside Iraq during the American occupation and the decline in the security situation in all governorates. During the current government, more than 10,000 pieces have been recovered,” noting that “a plan has been launched to restore and maintain most of the 15,000 archaeological sites in all Iraqi governorates, which are considered important archaeological sites.”

He explained that "the procedures for working in the field of antiquities require accuracy, skills and slowness, and that the work is not at the required level due to the lack of financial allocations," noting that "there are great efforts by the Minister of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities to provide financial allocations in coordination with local governments, as we started with numerous tours in most of the governorates of Iraq, and a lot of money was allocated, especially in Nineveh Governorate, to restore the archaeological sites that were destroyed by the terrorist ISIS."

Regarding the plans to attract tourists, Shalgam said, “The Minister of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities has made efforts in coordination with the embassies of sister and friendly countries to facilitate the granting of visas to most nationalities. It is expected that the coming period will witness a noticeable influx of tourists, especially with Iraq enjoying holy religious, archaeological and tourist sites and enchanting nature. Also, choosing Baghdad as the Arab Tourism Capital for the coming year will be a reason to increase the number of tourists.”