CAIRO, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Egypt has recovered 17 ancient artifacts from Australia that had been smuggled out of the country, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
The ministry said the pieces date to different periods of ancient Egyptian history.
The repatriation coincides with the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Egypt and Australia and reflects "mutual respect and trust," particularly in the protection of cultural heritage, according to the statement.
The items were returned following an Australian court ruling in September ordering a private company to hand them back to Egypt.
With this latest return, Egypt adds another success to its growing roster of recoveries, part of a wider campaign to reclaim stolen heritage worldwide. Over the past few years, Egypt has recovered tens of thousands of smuggled antiquities from different countries.
