Egypt retrieves 2 artifacts from Belgium

CAIRO – 2 December 2025: Assistant Foreign Minister for Cultural Affairs Wael el Naggar attended the handover ceremony of two artifacts retrieved by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Emigration and Egyptian Expatriates from Belgium.

The two artifacts were handed to the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

 

The retrieval process was part of the State's ceaseless efforts to recover smuggled artifacts and preserve national cultural property and heritage.

The handover came after a fruitful cooperation between the Egyptian Embassy in Brussels, the Belgian ministries of foreign affairs and economy, the Belgian Public Prosecutor's Office, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, and the Egyptian Public Prosecutor's Office.

 

This achievement, which has crowned joint efforts between various state agencies, demonstrates full commitment to the Egyptian Law on Antiquities Protection, as well as international agreements prohibiting and preventing the illicit import, export, and transfer of cultural property, the Egyptian diplomat said.

The retrieved items include a valuable wooden sarcophagus dating back to the Ptolemaic period between the third and first centuries BC and a fragment of an ancient Egyptian wooden statue.