French President Nicolas Sarkozy, speaking in Baghdad on Tuesday, hailed Iraq's provincial elections and confirmed France's commitment to the country, dpa reported.
"The provincial elections were very successful," Sarkozy told reporters at a joint press conference with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani Tuesday. "Our government supports Iraq's national reconciliation. My visit represents France's responsibly to Iraq.
"I have come to emphasize France's wish to participate in the economic development of Iraq and the rehabilitation of its infrastructure. Our collaboration has no limits," the French leader said.
"We want to collaborate in economic, energy and reconstruction. We can help educate your elites ... we can help you train your police and security forces, we can train and equip the Iraqi army," he said.
In October, French and Iraqi officials confirmed that they were negotiating the sale of French weapons to Iraq for the first time since France stopped supplying Saddam Hussein's government in 1990.
"Our support will be constant and without meddling (in internal affairs)," the French president added.
Sarkozy's visit is the first by a French head of state since the US-led forces toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003. France had been critical of the invasion at the time, and refused to send any troops to the country.
"We need an Iraq that respects all its minorities, a democratic Iraq, an Iraq of sovereignty and self-governance. We want Iraq to look to its future, and not to its painful past which harmed all the Iraqi people," Sarkozy said.
The French president called on all European leaders to visit the country, saying that a peaceful Iraq is in Europe's interest.
"I will tell French companies working in Iraq that they must work non-stop," Sarkozy said.
His remarks echoed those of French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner on his August visit to Iraq, his second. Kouchner told reporters at the time that it was time to "turn the page" on the past and look to the future.
Security has improved in Iraq in recent months, but lethal attacks continue daily. On Monday, a suicide bomber killed four US soldiers, an Iraqi translator, and himself in Baghdad, according to a statement from the Multi-National Forces in Iraq.
Sarkozy met Talabani when the Iraqi president came to France in November. The French president will next travel to Oman, Bahrain, and Kuwait in a bid to bolster French influence in the region.