French President Jacques Chirac called on Tuesday for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council for Germany to reflect its increased global importance.

"Germany's engagement, its ranking as a great power, its international influence -- France would like to see them recognised with a permanent seat on the Security Council," Chirac said in a speech in Berlin.

Speaking as the first foreign leader to address the renovated Reichstag parliament, Chirac praised Germany's decision to send troops to Kosovo last year -- the first time its forces have been involved in combat since World War Two.

The Security Council now has five permanent members with veto power -- the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France -- and 10 non-permanent nations which rotate for a two year-term, five each year. The council, whose decisions on peacekeeping or sanctions must be respected by all U.N. members, has been criticised for a decade for being unrepresentative.

The United States said in April it would agree to a larger membership than the 21 seats it had previously advocated, which most U.N. members reject as being far too few. The United States has said Germany and Japan should be given permanent council seats. It has also backed seats for nations from Africa, Asia and Latin America.