Jakarta. President Prabowo Subianto on Wednesday received FBI Director Kash Patel at his private residence in Kertanegara, Jakarta, where the United States returned a number of Indonesian cultural artifacts that had been illegally smuggled abroad, marking a milestone in bilateral cooperation on cultural heritage repatriation.

Culture Minister Fadli Zon said Patel personally handed the artifacts to Prabowo as part of an ongoing collaboration between Indonesia's Culture Ministry and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation to recover stolen cultural property.

"Besides our official discussions, Patel also brought Indonesian cultural artifacts as part of cooperation between the Indonesian government, through the Culture Ministry, and the FBI to return cultural objects that had been illegally smuggled into the United States," Fadli told reporters after the meeting, accompanied by State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi.

He said the artifacts were returned after authorities completed provenance research to verify their origins.

"Once their provenance had been established, the artifacts were returned and personally delivered by Kash Patel to the President” he said.

The repatriated collection originates from Papua and includes cultural artifacts of the Dani, Asmat, and Sentani tribes.

"These are extremely valuable objects. This repatriation is part of our effort to restore Indonesia's cultural sovereignty," he said.

Fadli added that Indonesia and the FBI have cooperated on the recovery of stolen cultural property for some time, with the bureau previously assisting in the return of important Indonesian artifacts, including bronze statues and objects taken from several archaeological sites.

"We hope cooperation with the FBI, particularly on the repatriation and restitution of cultural objects, will continue to grow stronger with support from the State Secretariat and the Foreign Ministry," he said.

The returned artifacts will be exhibited at the National Museum, allowing the public to study and appreciate Indonesia's cultural heritage.

The latest handover follows another repatriation from the United States earlier this month. On July 10, the US Embassy in Jakarta announced the return of two 8th-century bronze Buddha statues that had been looted from Indonesian archaeological sites decades ago. The artifacts were formally handed over at the Indonesian Consulate General in New York following a joint effort by the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York and US Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

The two standing bronze statues depict Avalokiteshvara, the Buddhist bodhisattva of compassion. Dating to the 8th century, the statues measure approximately 16 inches (40.6 cm) and 20 inches (50.8 cm) tall.

Indonesia has stepped up efforts in recent years to recover cultural treasures taken overseas through colonial-era looting, conflict, scientific expeditions, missionary activities, and illegal trafficking.

In early 2025, the National Museum displayed centuries-old stone Buddha statues, jewelry, and other cultural treasures returned by the Netherlands under a repatriation agreement signed in 2022. The collection formed part of more than 800 artifacts recovered from the former colonial power.