Spain and Egypt seal their good neighbourliness with the recovery of 36 archaeological artefacts

Diplomacy between Spain and Egypt continues to be characterised by good neighbourliness, especially in the cultural sphere. On this occasion, Spain and the Arab republic, aware of the high value of cultural heritage, continue to cooperate in order to safeguard those pieces and monuments that form part of the history of humanity.

In this line, the National Archaeological Museum of Madrid hosted a presentation in which it was shown how, thanks to the joint cooperation between the Guardia Civil and the Egyptian Government, 36 archaeological pieces that had been under the control of organised crime groups have been rescued. The ceremony was attended by the Egyptian ambassador to Spain, Youssef Mekkay, together with the Lieutenant Colonel of the Guardia Civil, Javier Rogero Martín, the director of the National Archaeological Museum, Andrés Carretero Pérez and the president of the Technical Office of the General Prosecutor's Office of the Egyptian State, Jorge Saad Saleeb.

The opening ceremony was opened by the museum's director, Andrés Carretero, who underlined the importance of the event as "a ceremony that bears witness to the contributions made by the National Archaeological Museum both in the cultural field and in the preservation of the cultural heritage of other countries".

Likewise, Lieutenant Colonel Javier Rogero affirmed that this celebration put "the finishing touch to a service that began seven years ago and which fits in perfectly with the fight against the trafficking of illicit goods that we have been carrying out on behalf of the Guardia Civil".

"This service responds to what we have called for and what we have stated in international forums about the capabilities of the Guardia Civil," he argued. "The maxim we have is, above all, the recovery of property, and what we want is to preserve the common heritage".

The Ambassador of Egypt, Youssef Mekkay, then pointed out that it was "a pleasure to be in this illustrious museum in which, through its collections, they denote the wealth of Spanish history over the centuries".

"These pieces were trying to be brought into Spain through the port of Valencia after having been stolen from Egyptian sites," he said. "The operation to rescue these archaeological pieces has been a cooperative operation between the Egyptian and Spanish authorities, who have spared no effort to return the looted pieces to their country of origin. Spain has helped Egypt to recover part of its heritage, for which I would like to express my sincere thanks to the Spanish State", he concluded.

For his part, the President of the Technical Office of the General Prosecutor's Office of Egypt, Jorge Saeed Saleeb, reiterated that "the rescue of these 36 pieces denotes the excellent bilateral relations between the two countries. These cooperative ties have great potential to grow even closer," he reiterated. He also emphasised that "Spain is one of the main countries that most demonstrates its willingness to cooperate in the cultural sector with the countries of the Middle East".

These pieces maintain a fundamental historical relevance. According to the experts, the different statues date back 3,000 years and make up a series of figures, representing humans and animals, which help us to learn more about how the ancient Egyptians lived. In Saaed's words, these sculptures "are of great cultural interest, for which we are grateful to Spain for its collaboration".

Thus, in this meeting, Egypt and Spain seal their commitment and collaboration as countries that wish to continue working together not only for their own common interest but also for the benefit of humanity. With this diplomacy, the bilateral collaboration has ensured that these pieces, which belong to all humanity, return to their place of origin so that they can be admired by the whole world.