By NYAN HLAING LYNN | FRONTIER
NAY PYI TAW – The Norwegian government has returned to Myanmar a Buddha figure believed to be 200 years old and constructed during the country’s Konbaung dynasty, which ruled from 1752 to 1885.
At a handover ceremony held in Nay Pyi Taw on Thursday, Norwegian Foreign Minister Mr Borge Brende returned the statue, which is believed to have been constructed in Mandalay, to Myanmar’s Minister for Religious Affairs and Culture Thura U Aung Ko.
Thura U Aung Ko expressed his gratitude to Norway and UNESCO for their assistance in returning the statue, and said it represented a close working relationship between the countries.
It is not clear how, or when, the statue ended up in Norway, but it was discovered by the Norwegian government in 2011. It will be displayed at the National Museum in Nay Pyi Taw.
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