Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Receives Six Cuneiform Tablets from Turkey and Announces Imminent Transfer to National Museum

Undersecretary of the Foreign Ministry for Multilateral and Legal Affairs Ambassador Shorsh Khalid Saeed, expressed the Ministry’s appreciation for the Turkish initiative of returning a number of Iraqi antiquities. The Undersecretary commended the ongoing cooperation between the two countries and Ankara’s commitment to upholding its international obligations regarding the protection of cultural property and the restitution of smuggled artifacts.

This came following the Foreign Ministry received six ancient cuneiform tablets repatriated by the Embassy of the Republic of Iraq in Ankara, as part of the Iraqi government’s continued efforts to recover its cultural and historical heritage on Sunday, 13 July 2025.

Ambassador Shorsh stated that the clay tablets will be transferred to the Iraqi National Museum after the completion of the necessary legal and technical procedures, where they will be added to the museum’s collection which reflects the richness of Iraq’s ancient civilization.

It is worth noting that the Embassy of the Republic of Iraq in Ankara had received the tablets from the Turkish Ministry of Culture during an official handover ceremony held on 30 June 2025 at the Republic Museum in Ankara. The ceremony was attended by Iraq’s Ambassador to Turkey Mr. Majid Al Lachmawi, and the Turkish Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mr. Gökhan Yazgı. 

The Iraqi government, in coordination with a number of Arab and friendly countries, continues its efforts to recover hundreds of antiquities that were smuggled over the past decades. These efforts are part of a comprehensive national plan that includes collaboration with UNESCO and various international and regional entities concerned with the preservation of cultural heritage.