The International Coalition to Support Protection of Egyptian Antiquities

drhawass.com (Zahi Hawass)

Yesterday, I had a meeting with a good friend of mine, Deborah Lehr, the Director of the Capitol Archaeological Institute (CAI) at George Washington University in the United States. Deborah came to see me as the head of an important delegation from the States called the International Coalition to Support Protection of Egyptian Antiquities. The Coalition was made up of notable representatives of the CAI, the Archaeological Institute of America, the American Schools of Oriental Research at Boston University, and the National Geographic Society.

The Coalition came to discuss ways to support the Egyptian government in protecting and repatriating its antiquities. It was a very successful meeting. We talked over several suggestions, including a Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Ministry of State for Antiquities.