Trade between the two parties amounted 154 million dollars in 2012. There were 56 registered Swedish companies registered in Kurdistan Region that year.[4] Swedish MP Fredrik Malm stated that "We are friends of the Kurdish people and we follow the events closely, and our key objective is to support the self-determination of the Kurdish people."[5]
Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström met Kurdish Foreign Minister Falah Mustafa in January 2015 and discussed humanitarian aid for the internally displaced people in the region.[6] In November same year, Wallström and Swedish Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist travelled to Erbil and pledged support for Kurdish forces fighting ISIS.[7] 70 Swedish soldiers have been sent to Erbil to train Kurdish soldiers in urban warfare, healthcare, and protection against chemical weapons.[8] In October 2016, Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven visited Erbil, where he met Kurdish President Masoud Barzani, Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani and the stationed Swedish soldiers.[9]
^While Kurdistan Region refers to the autonomous Kurdish region in Northern Iraq, Iraqi Kurdistan is a geographical term referring to the Kurdish area of Iraq
