Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid meeting in Cairo with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry. Photo: Shlomi Amsalem/GPO

Israel on Thursday returned to Egypt dozens of artifacts and relics which had been smuggled into the country, during Foreign Minister Yair Lapid’s diplomatic visit to Ciaro.

The 95 relics seized in Israel were handed over by Lapid during a meeting with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry. Israel Antiquities Authority director Eli Escozido presented Shoukry with the Egyptian relics that had been illegally brought into Israel.

“At the request of the Egyptian authorities and as a gesture of goodwill, the Israeli government and the Israel Antiquities Authority decided to return the items to the Egyptians,” Israel’s Foreign Ministry stated.

In March 2013, an Israeli antiques dealer was caught by local customs authorities at the Ben Gurion Airport as he attempted to smuggle four Egyptian antiquities into the country. The antiques dealer had purchased the items in England and tried to bring them into Israel without passing through customs.

Believing the items to belong to ancient Egyptian culture, the Israel Antiquities Authority updated the Egyptian authorities, who confirmed they had been stolen.

In the same year, Egyptian authorities contacted their Israeli counterparts claiming that relics held in an antiques store of a licensed merchant in Jerusalem were also stolen items from the country. The Israel Antiquities Authority opened an investigation at their request, which led to the seizure of 91 archaeological items found in the store.

Among the seized items returned to Egypt are parts of inscriptions on stone in hieroglyphic writing, a fragment of a wooden sarcophagus bearing the Egyptian script, papyrus inscriptions, dozens of figurines of Egyptian goddesses, and Shabtis figurines usually placed in tombs as burial offerings.

Lapid said he had a “long and warm meeting” with Shoukry, in which the two discussed Israeli-Egyptian cooperation in the political, security, economic and civil fields.

During the one-day visit to Cairo, Lapid met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi for talks about Iran’s efforts to attain a nuclear weapon and the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.

“Egypt is an especially important strategic partner for Israel, and I look forward to continuing the dialogue between us,” Lapid said.

The first Arab country to sign a peace agreement with Israel in 1979, Egypt has served as a key mediator between Israel and the Hamas terror group.

During the visit, Lapid also met the head of the Egyptian General Intelligence Service, General Abbas Kamel, to discuss the situation in the Gaza Strip and to deepen cooperation in preserving regional stability.