Paris - Iraqi President Jalal Talabani is to meet later Monday with his French counterpart, Nicolas Sarkozy, to discuss relations between their two countries. Talabani's four-day stay is the first-ever state visit of an Iraqi president to France, and is the result of an invitation by Sarkozy.
The French president traveled to Iraq in February, while Prime Minister Francois Fillon was there in July.
The purpose of the trip is to highlight the normalization of bilateral relations following France's refusal to support the American invasion of Iraq in 2003 to topple Saddam Hussein.
It is also expected to result in the signing of a number of defence, security, economic and cultural contracts.
The cost of the reconstruction of Iraq has been estimated at more than 500 billion dollars, and Paris and Baghdad have already signed several lucrative deals, mostly in matters of defence and security.
During his visit, Talabani is also expected to meet with top officials in the influential businessman's federation MEDEF.
