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OO RUEHBC RUEHDBU RUEHDE RUEHFL RUEHIHL RUEHKUK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHNP
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O 131704Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY STOCKHOLM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4215
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 0317

C O N F I D E N T I A L STOCKHOLM 000178 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/13/2019 
TAGS: PREL PINR IZ SW
SUBJECT: SWEDEN ON INTEGRATING IRAQ INTO REGION 
 
REF: STATE 21447 
 
Classified By: CDA Robert J. Silverman for reasons 1.4(b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (C) Summary: Sweden thinks Iraq is integrating well into 
the broader Middle East and that the Expanded Neighbors 
Process is a good vehicle.  Sweden supports the International 
Compact with Iraq but worries that it would be hard to 
attract ministers to Baghdad this summer because of security 
concerns; a senior officials meeting might be a better first 
step.  Internal integration is suffering as Arab-Kurd 
tensions escalate.  Sweden hopes to open its embassy by May 
and is working on an assistance program that emphasizes Iraqi 
ownership and involvement.  The MFA is working on a pilot 
project to match Swedish companies with Iraqi immigrants who 
would be willing to represent them in Baghdad.  End Summary. 
 
Regional Integration Good 
------------------------- 
 
¶2. (C) Sweden thinks Iraq is integrating well into the 
broader Middle East, MFA State Secretary Frank Belfrage told 
CDA March 13.  Swedish diplomats report Iraq is mending 
fences with Turkey and is not having "too much trouble" with 
Iran right now.  Belfrage and FM Carl Bildt both got the 
impression from recent trips to the Middle East that the 
Saudis are also "warming up."  Sweden thinks President 
Obama's clear articulation of Iraq policy has been very 
important for letting all players have a "sense of the 
direction" things are developing, Belfrage concluded. 
 
Expanded Neighbors Yes, but Too Early for ICI Ministerial 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
¶3. (C) On multilateral mechanisms, Middle East experts at the 
MFA think the Expanded Neighbors Process may be the most 
important -- "not so much for substance, but for the 
symbolism of all the parties meeting together," according to 
Dag Juhlin-Dannfelt, deputy director of the Middle East and 
North Africa Unit.  Sweden will continue to support the 
International Compact with Iraq bilaterally and within the 
EU, but is not optimistic that Iraq will be able to attract 
minister-level attendees to Baghdad this summer because of 
security concerns, Dannfelt told us in a March 12 meeting. 
He suggested that a senior officials meeting might be easier 
to achieve, at least as a first step.  It would be important 
for the UN and Iraq to avoid the "real failure" of inviting 
ministers and not having them show up, he added. 
 
Concern over Arab Kurd Tensions 
------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (C) The greater problem involved internal integration and 
Kurdish-Arab relations, Belfrage and Dannfelt said.  As the 
security environment improves and all parties focus more on 
political arrangements, the Kurds are starting to ask "where 
they belong" in modern Iraq, Belfrage noted.  Shia-Sunni 
friction has been replaced by Arab-Kurd friction, Dannfelt 
said, adding that Sweden was concerned that national 
reconciliation was not being reached between North and South. 
 
 
Swedish Embassy to Open by May 
------------------------------ 
 
¶5. (C) Sweden hopes to move staff into its embassy by the end 
of May and to have FM Bildt visit for a ribbon-cutting 
ceremony in June, Dannfelt reported.  Plans call for six 
diplomats posted to Baghdad, plus two officials from the 
Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) and two more 
from the Swedish Trade Council.  Other Nordics, including 
Norway and Finland, have asked for office space at the 
Swedish mission, he added. 
 
Swedish Aid to Be Less "Condescending"? 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (C) Dannfelt stated that SIDA has been asked to be a bit 
less "condescending" and spend more time listening to the 
Iraqis to determine what they need, with a focus on "Iraqi 
ownership" of SIDA projects.  On trade, the MFA is working on 
a business promotion project that would make use of the 
expertise in the Iraqi diaspora in Sweden, matching Swedish 
companies with those who have the language and cultural 
skills needed to be good representatives in Iraq.  If there 
is sufficient interest in the commercial sector here, then 
the project would be handed over to the Trade Council to 
manage, Dannfelt said. 
 
SILVERMAN