India and the United States signed a bilateral cultural property agreement on July 26, which would help strengthen cooperation in protecting and preserving cultural heritage.
This agreement will help combat the illegal trade of cultural property and facilitate the return of stolen antiquities to their countries of origin.
It was signed between Union Culture Secretary Govind Mohan, U.S. Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti and Minister of Culture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in the presence. The U.S. Embassy in India described this as the culmination of almost two years of collaboration among both nations’ experts.
The agreement serves to fulfill the commitment both President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi made each other during their June 2023 meeting to expand cooperation in cultural heritage protection,” the embassy said.
Ambassador Garcetti, in this regard, made it clear that the importance of the agreement lies in the fact that it relates to justice, returning what is rightfully theirs to India, and connecting India with the world. To know Indian culture is to know human culture.
India now joins 29 other countries with similar cultural property agreements with the United States, which were negotiated under U.S. law implementing the 1970 UNESCO Convention on preventing the illicit trade in cultural property.
The U.S. has reaffirmed its commitment to restricting the trafficking of cultural property and preserving heritage around the world.
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