De Hoop Scheffer, whose mission was previously kept under wraps for security reasons, announced the opening at a press conference.

And addressing a group of alliance officers already in the country to train Iraqi officers, de Hoop Scheffer stressed that Nato was in Iraq "on behalf of the Iraqi people".

"It is their priority, they want to be as soon as possible less dependent on others, less dependent on the coalition, less dependent on other military forces and take the fate of their own country into their own hands," he said.

His visit, which started Friday morning, was the first by a Nato chief to the war-wracked country.

De Hoop Scheffer, who was expected to leave the same day, stressed the importance of holding elections on January 30 as planned, "to see the political process in this country developing, to see people taking their fate into their own hands."

Asked about how many Iraqis had so far benefited from the training, in Iraq and abroad, Nato information officer Colonel Petter Lindqvist said "perhaps a hundred".

Lindqvist said that progress so far had been remarkable.

"Our trainers report back to us that progress has really been been remarkable, the devotion and dedication of the officers is great and these people are receiving threats to them and their families," he told AFP.

"The Iraqi officers are prepared to sacrifice so much."

Lindqvist stressed that Nato itself would not be involved in fighting insurgents, despite a rising tide of violence ahead of the elections.

"We are not involved in training troops. It is a Nato decision that Nato will not engage on the tactical level and we are not entering into any combat whatsoever, except from self-defence point of view," he said.

Several hundred instructors due in the country will be protected by a Nato force, with the aim of training 1,000 Iraqi officers a year.

AP adds: President Bush rejected calls for a delay in next month's Iraqi elections, insisting Thursday that the vote was too important to put off even though violence and chaos still grip much of the country.

"It's time for the Iraqi citizens to go to the polls," Bush said.

Bush predicted Iraq's elections would leave the world "amazed that a society has been transformed so quickly," but he did not explain why he was so adamant that balloting go forward as scheduled Jan. 30.

A number of Iraqi political parties have urged delay.