Sweden contributes $1.9 million to support stability in Iraq
The Swedish Ambassador to Iraq, Jessica Svardstrom, and UNDP Resident Representative in Iraq, Auke Lootsma. Photo: UNDP
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Sweden contributed 1.9 million USD to the flagship program of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Funding Facility for Stabilization (FFS), according to a statement issued by the UNDP.
The Swedish Ambassador to Iraq, Jessica Svardstrom, and UNDP Resident Representative in Iraq, Auke Lootsma, held a signing ceremony on Thursday to formalize the Swedish contribution, the statement elaborated.
Since the establishment of the FFS in 2015, the f Swedish government contributed 42 million USD to stabilization efforts in Iraq, the statement illustrated.
With this additional funding, UNDP will be able to continue rehabilitating critical infrastructure and services damaged during the conflict with ISIS and setting the stage for community-based reintegration, the statement elaborated.
As of April 2023, UNDP’s FFS completed more than 3,500 projects across the five liberated Iraqi governorates of Anbar, Diyala, Kirkuk, Nineveh, and Salah Al-Din, the statement explained.
“Sweden has a close bilateral relationship with Iraq. The fact that 3 percent of the Swedish population has its origins in Iraq has created strong people-to-people contacts between our countries,” Svardstrom said.
“Sweden will continue to support a stable and secure Iraq, including through our bilateral development cooperation,” Svardstrom added.
These projects, which include the rehabilitation of schools, hospitals, water systems, electricity networks, and homes, and the creation of short-term employment, have improved the lives of over 8.3 million Iraqis and facilitated the return of 4.9 million people displaced by the ISIS conflict, the statement added.