Minister of Culture and Sports Lydia Koniordou and her Italian counterpart Dario Francescini signed a “Memorandum of Collaboration between the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Greek Democracy and the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism of the Italian Democracy, for the prevention of illicit trafficking in antiquities, illegal excavations and the illegal import ,export, trafficking or transfer of ownership of cultural goods and also the promotion of reappropriating or return of cultural goods to their countries of origin.”
As mentioned in the announcement by the Ministry of Culture and Sports, this move strengthens the already very good collaboration between two countries, each with a significant cultural past, in their fight against the illicit trafficking of antiquities.
In the two ministers’ bilateral meeting held in Corfu on September 14, in the framework of the Greek-Italian High Level Cooperation Council, it was agreed that cultural and educational relations be stepped up, specifically in the area of cultural heritage, focusing simultaneously on modern art through a series of rich cultural activities and exchanges between Greece and Italy, starting in the Spring of 2018.