More Cambodia’s Cultural Property to Return Home

Thirty (30) pieces of cultural property, including a 10th Century sculpture ‘Skanda on a Peacock,’ which has cultural and religious significance to the people of Cambodia, will be repatriated, according to a recent press release of the U.S. Department of State.

The repatriation ceremony will be held in New York on Aug. 8 in the presence of H.E. Keo Chhea, Cambodian Ambassador to the U.S., U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) H.E. Ms. Lee Satterfield and representatives from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (USASD) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

The ceremony will follow U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s travel to Cambodia last week and underscores the United States’ commitment to preserving cultural heritage and property in Cambodia and around the world, as well as the bilateral and people-to-people relationships between the United States and Cambodia.

H.E. Ms. Lee Satterfield will also highlight Cambodia’s regional leadership as a partner in cultural heritage protection through the U.S.-Cambodia cultural property agreement, the only such agreement between the United States and an ASEAN member. 

For more than 20 years, the United States has worked to protect, preserve, and honour Cambodia’s rich cultural heritage with Cambodian partners, American academic institutions, and nonprofit organisations, it pointed out.

Source: Agency Kampuchea Press