September 10, 2012

Government of Egypt and the International Coalition to Protect Egyptian Antiquities Announce Public-Private Partnership

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The Government of Egypt (GOE) and the International Coalition to Protect Egyptian Antiquities (the Coalition), led by the Capitol Archaeological Institute at The George Washington University, the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA), American Schools of Oriental Research, the National Geographic Society, and the US-Egypt Business Council, have renewed a partnership to protect Egyptian antiquities.

In 2011, the Coalition and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Egypt reached a mutual agreement to cooperate on a comprehensive plan to protect Egypt’s archaeological and cultural heritage sites and artifacts, which are an essential cornerstone of tourism revenue in Egypt and vital to supporting a successful economy.

The partners will commit resources to promote the protection of Egypt’s invaluable cultural heritage, which will provide a crucial basis for tourism revenue as Egypt builds a successful economy.  Specifically, the partners agree to undertake the following initiatives: 

• Alert International Governments and Institutions to Protect Egyptian antiquities
• Increase Protection of Historic Sites
• Create a Data Base of Egypt’s Archaeological Sites
• Launch a Satellite Imagery Initiative
• Physical site protection
• Prevention of trade in Illicit Antiquities
• Border security.
• Capacity building for Ministry State Antiquities Inspectors and State Guards
• Establish an archiving center for the ancient documents.
• Develop an education campaign
• Establish Small Business Initiative to Help Protect Sites and Regions

The pact was co-signed by Deborah Lehr, Chairman, CAI, on Behalf of the International Coalition and Dr. Mohammed Ibrahim, Ali Sayed, Antiquities Minister of State.

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