Cameroon, Germany discuss restitution of artifacts
Major museums, auction houses, and private collectors in Germany have faced growing pressure in recent years to repatriate priceless works of art and other antiquities from African nations.
Cameroonian Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute on Monday discussed with visiting German Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Simen Katja Keul about the prospects of returning artifacts that were removed from the Central African country during the colonial era.
“There is a great interest by the German civil society to deal with this past and to work together on it, like for example the restitution of cultural goods,” Keul told reporters after the meeting in the capital, Yaounde. Keul added that the common procedure was being looked at to reinforce cooperation in this regard.
Major museums, auction houses, and private collectors in Germany have faced growing pressure in recent years to repatriate priceless works of art and other antiquities from African nations.
In May, Cameroonian authorities said during a cabinet meeting that they were working with reputed local and international experts and associations to ensure that the art objects abroad are returned “honorably, administratively and safely” to the country.
