Iraqi and German authorities meet in Berlin to discuss retrieving smuggled artifacts
Iraqi and German officials at the Iraqi Embassy in Berlin.
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Laith Majid Hussein, Head of the Antiquities and Heritage Authority and Margaret Van S, Head of the Orient Department at the German Antiquities Institute, met at the Iraqi Embassy in Berlin.
Hussein along with Ahmed Al-Saadi, Iraqi diplomatic official, discussed several files related to the fields of Iraqi-German cooperation in the field of antiquities and excavations and the activation of using German excavation teams.
Hussein reviewed the file of smuggled antiquities and how to retrieve them. He noted that the German side has experience and capability to search for antiquities and that the Iraqi authorities are keen to maintain communication and cooperation with the German side.
Van S explained that the Iraqi antiquities file is one of the important files in the German Archeology Institute, and that Germany has been greatly interested in Iraqi antiquities for more than a century, due to the great historical and cultural weight of the Mesopotamian civilization.
Al-Saadi expressed the willingness of the Iraqi embassy in Berlin to work together with the German side and the Iraqi authorities concern with the archeology file to overcome difficulties and strengthen bilateral relations between the two parties to serve the common interests between the two countries.