Greece and U.S. partner to combat antiquities trafficking

Greece and the United States have announced a new joint initiative to combat organized crime and the illegal trafficking of antiquities. The announcement was made by Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni and U.S. Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle during the opening of the exhibition ‘Making Democracy in Greece and America’ at the Stoa of Attalos in the Ancient Agora.

The new program, titled ‘Return to Light: A US-Greece Partnership for the Protection of Cultural Heritage’, will be implemented through the Cultural Property Implementation Grant. In collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and the Greek National Committee of the International Council of Museums (ICOM), the initiative will support an exhibition of repatriated antiquities at the Ancient Agora.

Additionally, the partnership will include a cultural heritage seminar designed to strengthen cooperation between law enforcement agencies to fight the illicit trade of artifacts, alongside a public awareness campaign to highlight the bilateral efforts to protect Greek cultural heritage.