Syrian regime, UAE to cooperate on archaeological archives

The Syrian regime and the UAE agreed on Monday to exchange expertise on archiving Syrian archaeological pieces, the regime's Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported on Tuesday.

The Syrian regime, represented by its minister of culture - Dr. Lubanah Mshaweh and the UAE's Noura Al-Kaabi - signed a Memorandum of Understanding at a meeting in the UAE to discuss cultural cooperation.

The UAE is leading regional efforts to normalise economic, political and cultural relations with the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad, which was largely ostracised by the international community for the past ten years over its brutal repression of Arab Spring protests and the subsequent bombing of opposition towns.

Syria is home to an exceptional archaeological heritage spanning millennia - from Neolothic ruins to Nabatean, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman architecture.

Many of the country's 700 archaeological sites have been damaged or pillaged during the ongoing civil war, which has already lasted more than a decade.

All warring sides have been accused of looting artefacts during the conflict, from both major archeological sites and the country's museums.

Some sites, such as the ancient city of Palmyra - one of the most important cultural centres in the ancient world - were intentionally damaged by the Islamic State group.

Hundreds of artefacts were looted and sold illegally on the black market to finance the organisation. Others were damaged by the Syrian regime and Russia in their bombing campaign against opposition areas.

Opposition figures have also accused Syrian regime officials of engaging in the illegal antiquities trade and alleged that cultural authorities intentionally failed to archive their pieces properly.

In January, five looted Roman artefacts from the ancient city of Palmyra were returned to Damascus by a private Lebanese museum, where they had been on display since 2018.