PUTRAJAYA, March 28 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak held talks with visiting French President Francois Hollande at Malaysia’s adminstrative capital here today in conjunction with the latter’s two-day state visit to Malaysia.

Hollande was greeted by Najib upon his arrival at Perdana Putra and the two leaders held a restricted meeting before proceeding for the delegation meeting.

Najib and Hollande are also scheduled to witness the signing of bilateral agreements and a memorandum of understanding on defence and agriculture aimed at further promoting cooperation and stimulate greater economic collaboration between Malaysia and France.

The state visit of Hollande, who arrived in Malaysia yesterday, is part of the French President’s first visit to Asean which include visits to Singapore and Indonesia.

This is the second state visit by a French President to Malaysia. President Jacques Chirac paid a state visit to Malaysia in July 2003.

Last year, the bilateral trade between Malaysia and France increased by 6.3 per cent year-on-year to RM15.23 billion, and France was Malaysia’s fourth largest trading partner within the European Union countries. — Bernama