Trump Administration Signs Agreement with Turkey in Final Hours of Governance

The Trump administration signed an agreement with Turkey regarding cultural assets located within Turkish borders during its final hours in office, reports Voice of America.

In a statement from the U.S. Department of State, it is mentioned: “Today, U.S. Ambassador to Turkey David Satterfield and Turkey's Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy signed a bilateral memorandum of understanding that protects Turkish cultural assets. This agreement is an example of the ongoing work between the United States and Turkey to combat the trafficking of cultural property and to preserve heritage items, allowing the U.S. to set import restrictions on certain cultural assets from Turkey.”

The agreement also provides U.S. law enforcement the opportunity to return trafficked cultural objects to Turkey while simultaneously promoting the exchange of Turkish cultural heritage with U.S. institutions. Furthermore, it demonstrates our respect for Turkey's longstanding religious, ethnic, and cultural diversity.

The United States remains steadfast in its commitment to protect and preserve cultural heritage worldwide and to limit the trade of cultural property, which is often used to fund terrorist and criminal networks. This cultural property agreement with Turkey was negotiated by the State Department under U.S. law based on the 1970 Convention on Measures to Prohibit and Prevent the Illicit Import, Export, and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property. The U.S. has cultural property agreements with countries around the world, along with emergency import restrictions on cultural property from Iraq, Syria, and Yemen.