PORTO-NOVO, Benin -                  The government of France will lend Benin Republic $20 million to open a new museum in the town of Abomey that will house 26 artefacts taken from the country by French colonists in the late 19th century.

The museum is slated to open in 2021.

Alain Godonou, director of Museums of Benin, said the nation wants to ‘reclaim its property rights’ to the works, “We want the works to move around, that is our philosophy. In the end they are part of world heritage,” he added.