The funds will allow the Byzantine Museum of the Archbishop Makarios III Foundation in Nicosia to restore, together with the Department of Antiquities and the Holy Archbishopric of Cyprus, precious antique icons, frescoes and mosaics. The treasures have been repatriated from abroad after having been stolen from churches in the occupied Northern part of Cyprus. The project aims at preserving them until they could be safely shown again at their original places.

It is part of a close cooperation between Switzerland and Cyprus in the field of culture. Other major elements are an Agreement on the repatriation of antiques dating from prehistoric times to 1500 AD that entered into force on 15 February 2014 and a project to digitise and document movable cultural goods stemming from the Northern part of Cyprus. For this project, Switzerland had supported the Department of Antiquities with an amount of CHF 100'000 in July 2013 already.