Lebanon's Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri held talks here today with his Malaysian counterpart, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the official Bernama news agency reported.

Hariri invited Malaysia to an international meeting on financial help for Lebanon's ailing economy which is to be held in Paris, the agency said.

The prime minister, accompanied by Finance Minister Fuad Siniora, goes on to Tokyo after his one-day visit to Kuala Lumpur, where he is expected to meet Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to discuss the "Paris II" conference.

On Feb 28, 2001, French President Jacques Chirac hosted a Paris I meeting with the World Bank and European Union to help Lebanon head off a financial crisis.

In July, France announced that a second meeting to assist Lebanon would be held, but no date has yet been set. Lebanon has a public debt of 30 billion dollars, which represents 170 percent of gross domestic product. AFP