Egypt will host a conference in April for countries demanding the return of their antiquities, stolen but on display in museums round the world, according to Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities. The conference will "discuss the question of returning stolen antiquities," the council said in a statement. It gave no dates for the three-day conference.

Thirty countries, including Greece, Mexico, Peru, Afghanistan, Iraq, Cambodia and China, will participate in the Cairo gathering, said Egypt's antiquities director Zahi Hawass, who has made the return of looted Egyptian artefacts the hallmark of his tenure. "Officials from these countries will discuss taking action internationally to support efforts to return stolen antiquities to their countries of origin... and exhibited in certain museums and showrooms around the world," said Mr Hawass. The conference aims to work out "specific recommendations" and draw up a list of the antiquities claimed by each participating country.

It will also review international laws on the subject, for their "reconsideration" and "to protect the rights of the countries to recover their cultural and archaeological property," Mr Hawass added with elaborating.