Ottawa (ANTARA News/AFP) - Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper expressed hope for close cooperation with French president-elect Francois Hollande, in a telephone call congratulating him on his election victory Sunday.

Harper "emphasized the shared values and deep historic, cultural and linguistic ties enjoyed between Canada and France," spokesman Carl Vallee said in a statement.

"The leaders agreed on the need to further build Canada-France relations and to meet bilaterally in the near future."

Vallee said Harper also "expressed Canada`s desire to work closely with France on the full range of international issues and underlined that the first opportunity to do so would be at the upcoming G8, NATO and G20 summits."

US President Barack Obama will host the leaders of the Group of Eight rich nation`s club at his Camp David retreat in Maryland between May 18-19, followed by the NATO transatlantic alliance summit in Chicago on May 20-21.

A summit for leaders of the Group of 20 advanced and emerging economies is set to take place in Los Cabos, Mexico on June 18-19. (*)

Editor: Kunto Wibisono
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