Sweden stops aid to Iraq

The government is ending development aid to Iraq. 

Cooperation will be phased out and concluded on June 30 next year. The current strategy for development cooperation was to run until 2026.

“We are in a major overhaul of Sweden’s aid policy,” says aid minister, moderate Johan Forssell.

The reason is good economic development in Iraq, according to the Swedish government.

“It is a country with enormous economic resources that reasonably should be able to take responsibility for its own population,” says Forssell.

Iraq thus loses out on hundreds of millions of kronor.

According to Forssell, development aid to the country has amounted to nearly three billion over the past ten years.

(July 18)