Aust, France to boost bilingual schools

France and Australia are aiming to boost the number of bilingual school programs.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and her French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault signed an enhanced strategic partnership agreement in Melbourne on Friday.

The agreement includes efforts to boost trade and investment ties, ramp up high-level political meetings, and co-operate on innovation, renewable energy and development issues for Pacific island nations.

Ms Bishop talked up the historic links between the two countries, saying the friendship was forged on the battlefields of World War I.

Mr Ayrault, a former prime minister of France, visited the War Memorial in Canberra on Thursday after meeting with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

A new era in defence co-operation is set to step up further with French shipbuilder DCNS gearing up to start work in Adelaide on the $50 billion submarine project.

The two foreign ministers discussed the ongoing battle against Islamic State militants in the Middle East, terrorism, the North Korean nuclear threat and the Trump administration.

"Our nations are bound by common values and a shared vision for a secure and more prosperous future," Ms Bishop said.