Iraq receives 9 artifacts from the United States
The Iraqi President, Abdul Latif Rashid, and the Iraqi Minister of Culture standing during a ceremony held to receive Iraqi artifacts from the United States. Photo: Iraqi News Agency
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Iraqi Presidency announced on Thursday that the United States handed over nine artifacts to Iraq.
A statement issued by the Iraqi Presidency elaborated that the nine artifacts the Iraqi embassy in Washington received were sent to the director of the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage (SBAH), Laith Majid Hussein.
A ceremony was held in the Presidential Palace in Baghdad with the presence of the Minister of Culture and his accompanying delegation including SBAH director, the statement explained.
The artifacts include seven seals belonging to the Babylonian and Mesopotamian civilizations received from New York County District Attorney, a piece of ivory in the shape of a human face received from the Central Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in New York, and an ancient clay tablet received from the office of the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
The Iraqi President, Abdul Latif Rashid, stressed the need to rehabilitate and renovate ancient buildings and palaces in dire condition to serve the tourism sector, stressing his support for a real partnership to restore and rehabilitate museums and ancient buildings.