Pursuant to the Diplomacy of Restoring to Return the Smuggled Iraqi Antiquities, the Chargé d’Affaires of the Republic of Iraq to Belgium Receives the Desk Officer of Confiscated Antiquities in Belgium

The Chargé d’Affaires of the Republic of Iraq to Belgium, Minister Plenipotentiary, Dr Fadel Al-Rahim, has received Mr Eric Weir, the confiscated antiquities desk officer in the Belgian Federal Police.

 During the meeting, they discussed ways to enhance cooperation between the mission and the Belgian authorities concerned with the issue of illegal trafficking in antiquities and cultural artefacts and follow-up procedures for returning them to their countries of origin.

During the meeting, the Chargé d’Affaires stressed the need for the Belgian executive and judicial authorities to complete their procedures to identify the ownership of a group of antiquities confiscated by the Belgian authorities from auctions displaying and selling the antiquities suspected of being legally exhibited and sold at auctions specialized in this regard.

On his part, Mr Weir confirmed that the Belgian authorities are working to determine the ownership of a number of antiquities that were confiscated, and the legal procedures and cases go through a number of stages, and the Belgian authorities stand ready to cooperate with the mission and the Iraqi authorities to determine whether there are antiquities belongs to the Mesopotamian civilizations and were displayed illegally in the relevant Belgian auctions.

At the end of the meeting, the Chargé d’Affaires expressed his thanks to the Belgian side for their cooperation and for the briefing they had provided on the latest developments available to it on the subject, affirming the importance of continuing communication between the two sides to resolve outstanding issues.