BAGHDAD, June 4 (Xinhua) -- French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that France is ready to support the preparations of the Iraqi government to hold the country's early elections slated for Oct. 10.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi received a phone call from Macron, in which the French president confirmed France's approval of the UN resolution to send a team to monitor the Iraqi parliamentary elections, according to a statement by the Iraqi prime minister's media office.

They also discussed the ways to boost bilateral relations in various fields and agreed to continue the coordination in addressing the regional and international challenges, the statement said.

Al-Kadhimi praised France's role in fighting the militants of the extremist Islamic State (IS) group, it added.

On May 27, the UN Security Council unanimously renewed the mandate of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) for a year and authorized UN special representative Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert to provide a strengthened, robust and visible UN team to monitor Iraq's election day.

On Jan. 19, the Iraqi government approved Oct. 10 as the new date for the country's early elections to give more time for the the Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commission to complete preparations.

In July, 2020, al-Kadhimi set June 6, 2021 as the date for the early elections in response to the anti-government protests.

The last parliamentary elections in Iraq were held on May 12, 2018, and the next elections were originally scheduled for 2022. Enditem

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