I congratulate Prime Minister Al‑Abadi on the important achievements in liberating the city of Ramadi. An end to IS’ reign of terror is still a long way off. But after Tikrit, Baiji and Sinjar, Ramadi is the fourth larger city in Iraq to be recaptured by the Iraqi military. IS has had to relinquish more than a quarter of the territory it held in Iraq a year ago. Once again, this shows that IS is not invincible in Iraq or Syria.

It is good that the endeavours in Ramadi are being undertaken by the Iraqi army, with support from Iraq’s allies. The Iraqi state is thus showing that it wants to regain the trust of all sections of the population.

We will actively support Iraq as regards reconstruction and all measures to enable the people of Ramadi to return to their homes.

During my visit to Baghdad three weeks ago, I promised Prime Minister Al‑Abadi that Germany would provide 20 million euros for immediate measures aimed at rapidly restoring public order and services in the areas liberated from IS.

We will now liaise with the Iraqi Government and the United Nations on how we can carry out these measures quickly and effectively in Ramadi.