US President Barack Obama meets with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki at Camp Victory in Baghdad, April 7, 2009. [Xinhua]

Obama then met Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki at the base and promised he would pull American troops out of the country as planned. Obama cancelled his plan to fly with a helicopter to the heavily fortified Green Zone in central Baghdad.

"We are strongly committed to an Iraq that is sovereign, stable and self-reliant," he said, standing side by side with the Iraqi leader.

Al-Maliki, for his part, told reporters that "we assured the president that all the progress that has been made in the security area will continue."

Earlier, Obama said significant progress has been made in Iraq but there is still a lot of work to do.

Obama's visit comes amid a new wave of car bombings in the war-torn country as the US military is starting to phase out troops.

US President Barack Obama (L) talks to Iraqi President Jalal Talabani during a meeting in Baghdad April 7, 2009. [Xinhua]

A string of car bombings in mainly Shiite districts of Baghdad on Monday killed at least 32 people and wounded some 129 others. The US military said the attacks appeared to be coordinated by Al-Qaida.

Earlier in the day, the toll from a car bombing in Baghdad's northern district rose to eight killed and 14 people wounded.

Obama arrived in Baghdad after an eight-day international trip in which he traveled to Britain, France, Germany, the Czech Republic and Turkey. The tour has been closely watched in light of signs of a new page in US relationships abroad after eight years of the administration of George W. Bush.

Before he left Turkey, the president said, "I am personally committed to a new chapter of American engagement. We can't afford to talk past one another, to focus only on our differences."

(Xinhua News Agency April 8, 2009)