Thank you His Excellency Prime Minister Maliki,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Asalam Alekum, Shukran,

Thank you very much again for your kind words and hospitality.

It's a great pleasure and honour to visit Iraq as Secretary-General of the United Nations for the second time.

I was last here in April 2007 and I'm very much impressed to have witnessed myself, the great success and progress the Iraqi Government and people have made under the leadership of Prime Minister Maliki, and I congratulate you.

I came to Iraq today in order to congratulate the Iraqi people and the Iraqi government after last Saturday's provincial elections, and to show the support of the international community during this momentous time.

I have been following the electoral process closely from the early days of the parliamentary debate over the elections law last summer to the final stages of adjudication of the complaints and yesterday evening's release of the provisional results. It will be some days before final results are known, but current indications are that the elections have been successfully carried out.

I was truly delighted that millions of Iraqi people exercised their right to vote in an environment free of violence, a remarkable achievement in a country that has known so much conflict in recent years. Iraq has come a long way in taking their own affairs in hand, this being the first Iraqi-led and Iraqi-owned electoral process. It is a tribute to the growing effectiveness of the Iraqi Security Forces, and testifies to the increasing stability in the country.

I wish to commend the courage and determination of the Iraqi people, and to congratulate the Independent High Electoral Commission, as well as the thousands of Iraqi election workers and monitors, on having organized and carried out elections so effectively despite the logistical challenges. I was much impressed to hear the reports by United Nations monitors and the international observers on how smoothly the process went in almost all places.

And let me also congratulate my own Special Representative Staffan de Mistura and colleagues in the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq who, with its team of international electoral experts, have worked so hard to support this election.

This marks an important event, these being the first polls to affect the day-to-day lives of Iraqi voters. In fact these elections are about real power, in the sense that local leaders are nominated to be accountable for the delivery of basic services.

The success of the Election Day augurs well for the transition process and the solidifying of Iraq's national reconciliation.

The day marked a step towards Iraq's recovery. Iraqis need to now focus on the political process. By many accounts these elections will yield more representative local councils and a more inclusive political process.

This is a time for reconciliation on all sides, and I am encouraged by statements of a number of Iraqi political leaders, indicating their willingness to play a part in this process and to allow others to do so.

Iraqis need to embrace this opportunity by rising above narrow sectarian interests, reducing lingering tensions, remaining open to compromise solutions, which should not translate as “giving up on your principles”, and fostering consensus. Greater willingness for national reconciliation should be demonstrated at all levels and both between and among all major communities.

Security has improved and Iraq has asserted its sovereignty; but with more sovereignty comes more responsibility. With more responsibility should come less impunity and a greater feeling on the part of the Iraqi people that there are steps towards rule of law, with increased confidence in the state institutions. Only then can real and lasting security be achieved.

Striking a compromise on the core outstanding constitutional issues at the heart of Iraq's system of governance is essential for establishing stability in the country and vital to the process of national reconciliation in Iraq.

Here the United Nations Mission, with my strong personal support, as well as that of the Security Council of the United Nations, is committed to providing support to the Government of Iraq in many areas, with elections - several events planned for the coming year ahead of parliamentary elections - addressing Kirkuk and other disputed internal boundaries, including through support to the Article 23 Committee, and facilitating a dialogue on fundamental issues such as revenue-sharing, federalism and the sharing of natural resources.

In support of Iraq's leaders we will spare no efforts to meet the expectations of the Iraqi people in this next crucial phase.

Mr. Prime Minister,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am here to demonstrate the U.N.'S strong support to the people and Government of Iraq. As in the past, we will continue to work closely with the international community for the socio-economic development through the international compact with Iraq (ICI).

The United States has been working with the regional powers to help improve your relations with the neighboring countries.

I am pleased that to have seen in recent months the opening of Embassies by Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman.

We shall continue our involvement in this area through technical assistance to a support mechanism for regional cooperation that is based in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

I would like to thank Prime Minister Maliki and the Iraqi Government for the generous contribution of $25 million for the new U.N. Mission Office and hope that this well help ensure safety and security of the United Nations Staff premises.

Again, thank you very much.