COTONOU, July 29 (Xinhua) -- Benin's government has decided to repatriate all Abomey royal treasures that were taken away during the French colonial conquest in November 1892, Minister of State in the Presidency Pascal Koupaki has said.
"The government has instructed the ministers for foreign affairs and that of tourism and culture to commence negotiations with French authorities and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization for the repatriation to Benin of the country's cultural artifacts," Koupaki said during the government's weekly press conference.
"The two ministers will also mobilize all competent individuals both within the country and outside, with capacity to identify all our national treasures that were taken away to foreign museums or are hidden in private collections," he concluded.
The Abomey Kingdom existed in present day Benin, and it lasted from 1600 to 1900 when the French colonial authorities abolished the political authority of the Kingdom.
