The ministry is coordinating with the FBI to identify remaining obstacles and establish clearer procedures to facilitate the return of Indonesia’s cultural heritage objects from overseas.
Fadli made the remarks during a meeting with Robert F Lafferty, Legal Attaché of the FBI for Indonesia and Timor-Leste.
He said the repatriation of cultural artifacts is an important part of Indonesia’s efforts to safeguard its cultural identity and expand public access to national heritage.
“We want to understand any challenges that may still exist on our side. Therefore, we are committed to building clearer procedures and expediting the necessary processes so that repatriation efforts can move forward more effectively,” Fadli said.
Since the establishment of the Ministry of Culture as a standalone ministry, Indonesia has stepped up efforts to recover cultural artifacts held abroad through strategic cooperation with partner countries, he said.
“We highly appreciate the cooperation that has been carried out so far in efforts to return Indonesia’s cultural artifacts. Since the establishment of the Ministry of Culture, we have worked as hard as possible to restore and repatriate our national cultural heritage through various forms of international cooperation,” Fadli said.
Meanwhile, Lafferty said coordination among the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Indonesian diplomatic missions had produced positive results.
He said repatriation efforts had made significant progress over the past year and expressed hope that the process could be completed soon.
“Over the past year, we have seen very positive developments. We hope this process can be completed soon so that these artifacts can return to Indonesia,” Lafferty said.
He also reaffirmed the FBI’s commitment to supporting Indonesia’s efforts to recover cultural artifacts originating from the country.
“We are pleased to be part of this process. Cooperation like this demonstrates how cultural heritage protection can serve as a positive area of collaboration between our two countries,” he said.
The Ministry of Culture said it would continue strengthening cooperation with international partners to support the protection, recovery, and utilization of Indonesia’s cultural heritage.
Artifact repatriation forms part of the government’s commitment to ensuring that returned cultural heritage objects can be used for education, research, and the strengthening of Indonesia’s cultural identity.
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Translator: Sinta Ambarwati, Martha Herlinawati Simanjuntak
Editor: M Razi Rahman
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