ACCRA, June 20 (Xinhua) -- The government of Ghana welcomes the announcement by Germany and the Netherlands to return about 2,000 artefacts looted from the West African country during the period of slavery, Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said on Saturday.
In a post on social media platform X, Ablakwa said the announcement was made during a high-level consultative meeting in Accra, the capital of Ghana, adding that the ambassadors of the two European countries had presented a catalogue of the treasures they will return to Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama.
"We applaud the positive conduct of restitution we are beginning to witness from our international partners in Europe since the adoption of the historic Ghana-led UN resolution," said the post.
The high-level consultative meeting from Wednesday to Friday brought together heads of state from Africa and the Caribbean, as well as representatives from the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, the African Union, and a French government delegation.
At the conference, African leaders and global advocates for reparative justice called for stronger international efforts to address the enduring legacy of the trans-Atlantic slave trade and advance historical redress. ■