India is close to signing an agreement with the United States under which the process for the return of stolen antiquities will be hugely simplified, The Indian Express has learnt.
Instead of India having to prove that the item in question belongs to it, the US will automatically offer it for return once the Cultural Property Agreement (CPA) comes through.
On being asked about the progress on the India-US agreement, a spokesperson for the US Embassy in New Delhi told The Indian Express, “We are eager to conclude a bilateral CPA, which would help to prevent illegal trafficking of cultural property from India to the US.”