Russia hopes the Year of Russia in France and the Year of France in Russia will strengthen bilateral ties, the Russian presidential administration chief said Monday.

"Today we can say with conviction that the national years will become a genuinely large-scale event and will positively influence Russian-French cooperation," Sergei Naryshkin, who also heads the event's organizational committee, told journalists in the French Foreign Ministry.

The year of events will officially kick off March 2, when President Dmitry Medvedev is to open the Holy Russia exhibition at the Louvre museum in Paris.

Earlier it was reported that the program includes over 150 cultural and communications events, 38 economic projects and over 70 events in science, education, sports and youth exchanges.

Events will involve experts and civil society representatives.

PARIS, January 25 (RIA Novosti)