Sweden is a member of the US-led coalition against ISIS that is “here of course on request by Iraq’s government and as long as Iraq sees the need for our presence, we could continue to contribute to these missions,” Loven said in an interview with Rudaw’s Bestoon Khalid.
ISIS “is not completely defeated. I think Iraq has regained its stability. Iraq is in a completely different place now from what it was say five years ago, but we still see incidents. We still see some terrorist actions by ISIS,” he added. “This is also a struggle that we need to keep on the long term.”
In his first visit to the Kurdistan Region on Thursday, Loven met with Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani.
Loven said they had very "positive" discussions regarding security, prosperity, and the dynamic Kurdish diaspora living in Sweden. “We have … a very broad and positive relation, and we’re here to be a partner as well with the Kurdish Regional Government,” he said.
Lovan began his new position in Iraq in August and took part in the European Union mission to monitor the October 10 parliamentary election. “Sweden as a part of the European Union, we were very supportive of the elections. We’re trying to do our best to be a partner with Iraq in its pursuit of stability, the building of the democratic institutions and of economic prosperity,” he said.
There is a large Kurdish diaspora in Sweden, which the ambassador described as “dynamic… It’s well integrated, it’s part of Sweden.”
