9,139 Saudi heritage items recovered from US citizens

Saudi Arabia has recovered 9,139 antiquities from United States citizens who used to work for Saudi Aramco.
The pieces were reclaimed in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Saudi embassy in Washington.
Prince Sultan bin Salman, president of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA), announced the recovery of the pieces at the organization’s 35th meeting recently.
The SCTA also stated that it is currently classifying 11 packages containing various archaeological pieces it had reclaimed in February. It thanked the Saudi and US foreign ministries for helping to recover the pieces.
The SCTA also welcomed the royal decree supporting its draft report setting out measures to create jobs for Saudis in the domestic tourism industry.
The report was drafted with the Ministry of Labor, the Technical Vocational and Training Corporation, the Human Resources Development Fund and the National System for Joint Training.
The SCTA reviewed a report about the plan to develop Asir into a major tourist destination throughout the year. The Asir governor and chairman of the tourism development council in the province launched the initiative last December.
Members of the SCTA said it was important to implement the plan, including dealing with price rises, improving facilities, and providing jobs for citizens.
The SCTA said more than 20 festivals and tourist activities took place in various parts of Saudi Arabia during the midterm school holidays. These festivals hosted more than 1.6 million visitors, and provided over 2,000 temporary jobs for citizens.