French President Francois Hollande said his decision to supply arms to the autonomous Kurdish government was decisive in the fight against Islamic State jihadists in Iraq.
"I have decided to dispatch the necessary means and you have made the best use of it," he said in the Kurdish region, adding that this had been "decisive in reversing the balance of power."
Hollande, speaking alongside Kurdish president Massud Barzani, also pledged to take in some refugees fleeing the country temporarily.
"We will continue to follow with Europe our aid for the refugees," he said.
"We will set up a veritable humanitarian bridge and we will also treat the cases of families facing extreme situations who have links with France and who want to shelter with their relatives for the time-being," he said.
Hollande's trip was the highest-profile visit to Iraq since IS-led militants overran large parts of the country in June and sparked international concern over an expanding jihadist threat.
