A repatriation ceremony was held at the Indian Consulate in New York for handing over 105 trafficked antiques by the US to India following the State visit of PM Narendra Modi. Speaking on the development, US ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti said that the act was not about just returning, but it is also about ensuring that 'India is spread to the world'. Garcetti said that the India-US friendship has never been stronger and Americans in the world are learning more and more about India, adding 'this bridge that we are building has never been stronger'.
"We've been working as an embassy in the US govt on returning the art that needs to be in India. This has often come from India sometimes it's been stolen and illegally sold. Whether it's the District Attorney's office here or the Metropolitan Museum has sometimes identified that art and been a wonderful actor, to say, 'this doesn't smell right, this needs to go back to India', or whether it's the cultural agreement that PM Modi & President Biden announced during the state visit. We're going to finish negotiating that in the coming months so that it doesn't just depend on the goodwill of one year, but it's going to be a permanent part of our new friendship and relationship," Garcetti told ANI.
He further said, "We have a wonderful Buddha, that is in Arizona being waited to be repatriated. We want to have a permanent roadmap where this cultural agreement will be the first of its kind ever, so that the US and India together, when they identify this, can make sure that the right ones are repatriated and vice versa. It's not just about returning. It's also about making sure that India is spread to the world through exhibitions like this."
Speaking on the occasion, Ambassador of India to the United States, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, thanked the US side, in particular Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and his Anti-Trafficking Unit and the Homeland Security Investigation team for their cooperation and support in this initiative.