TRIPOLI, Nov 24: President Jacques Chirac arrived in Libya on Wednesday to turn the page on the two countries' thorny past and boost commercial ties.

He is the first French head of state to visit Libya since it won independence in 1951.

Chirac is the latest in a series of western leaders to pay Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi a call after Libya agreed to pay compensation for the Lockerbie and French UTA airliner bombings and abandon a quest for weapons of mass destruction.

This has put an end to European and US economic sanctions against the country. Lucrative oil contracts for foreign firms are expected as a result of the acceptance of Libya, a member of the OPEC oil- producing cartel, back into the international community after more than a decade of isolation.

Chirac's visit is aimed at strengthening ties, already on the mend after a deal in January to pay compensation to the families of 170 victims in the bombing of the UTA airliner over Niger in 1989.

"Libya has turned a certain number of pages by strong and concrete gestures. This is the view of Europeans and Americans," said presidential spokesman Jerome Bonnafont. Chirac is accompanied by about 15 senior businessmen looking into investments in Libya, both inside and outside the energy sector, much of which needs to be rebuilt.

US and European firms are competing to upgrade Libya's oil infrastructure and win exploration contracts. Transportation and telecommunications sectors also need rebuilding. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder have visited Libya this year. -Reuters