(RIGA) - France and Latvia in Riga Friday signed a "strategic partnership" during a meeting between Latvian Prime Minister Ivars Godmanis with his visiting French counterpart Francois Filon.

The EU partners agreed to intensify political dialogue on energy issues, defence policy and EU-Russia relations.

The partnership agreement signed Friday will be followed up by an action plan, reflecting French President Nicolas Sarkozy's policy to establish closer ties with the eight ex-communist central and east European nations that joined the European Union in 2004, a French diplomatic source told AFP.

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