Greece and US Team Up Against Illegal Antiquities Trafficking

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Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni held a working meeting with US Deputy Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Catherine Dillon, with the two sides reaffirming their strong cooperation in the cultural sector.

The meeting took place in a particularly warm atmosphere and confirmed the effective Greece-US partnership in combating the illegal trafficking of cultural property, according to a Ministry of Culture press release.

Mendoni highlighted the close cooperation between the Ministry of Culture and US authorities, which has already produced significant results and continues to help identify and repatriate ancient works of art illegally exported from Greece.

She stressed that effective protection of cultural heritage requires sustained international communication, the exchange of expertise and effective coordination among all relevant bodies. She also expressed satisfaction with the close cooperation between the Ministry of Culture, the US Embassy in Athens and the relevant US State Department authorities.

The two officials discussed the upcoming renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding between Greece and the United States imposing import restrictions on categories of Greek archaeological and ethnological material. Athens will host the renewal during the 6th Strategic Dialogue between Greece and the United States.

They also discussed expanding the presence of Greek culture in the United States through exhibitions, museum and educational partnerships, programmes and cultural exchanges.

Cultural Heritage School

The meeting also highlighted the value of the Cultural Heritage School (CHS), a joint initiative of Greece’s Ministry of Culture, the US State Department and ICOM.

The sixth CHS will take place in Athens and Thessaloniki in early 2027, bringing together museum professionals, law enforcement officials and security personnel from Greece, the United States and Southeast European countries.

The programme will focus on protecting cultural heritage from illegal trafficking.

The officials also discussed programmes already underway with the cooperation and support of the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the US Embassy in Athens, the American School of Classical Studies at Athens and Greece’s Ministry of Culture.

The initiatives form part of the celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence.

Mendoni also discussed the ministry’s cooperation with US museums, including the Getty, which will host Greek artefacts as part of the cultural programme surrounding the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET) and the Museum of the Bible will also host Greek exhibitions in the coming months.

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