Sri Lanka and Netherlands in talks to return historic manuscripts and artefacts

A high-level meeting took place yesterday (July 2) at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo to discuss the possible return of ancient Sri Lankan artefacts and manuscripts currently held in the Netherlands.

The discussion was led by Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Secretary to the President, and Bonnie Horbach, the Ambassador of the Netherlands to Sri Lanka.

The talks focused on cultural cooperation, especially the return of historical items taken during the colonial period.

Ambassador Horbach thanked the Sri Lankan Government for its support and said the initiative would help further strengthen the cultural relationship between the two countries.

The Dutch government has recently adopted a policy that supports the return of colonial-era artefacts to their countries of origin.

As part of this effort, they have launched a research programme to study the origins and history of these items.

An agreement has been made to carry out joint research with Sri Lanka on the artefacts in question.

The first phase of this collaboration will involve detailed research on a collection of ancient manuscripts currently in the Netherlands.

This research will be carried out under the guidance of Sri Lanka’s Department of National Archives.

Also present at the meeting were Senior Additional Secretary to the President Roshan Gamange and Krishen Mendis, Cultural Affairs Advisor to the Netherlands Ambassador.