PRAGUE (AP) — The Czech Republic's prime minister says the National Gallery in Prague is working on a project with the Pompidou Center in Paris whose goal is to establish a branch of the modern art museum in the Czech capital.

Prime Minister Andrej Babis made the announcement Friday after meeting Pompidou Center president Serge Lasvignes at Prague's Trade Fair Palace.

The palace, which will undergo a thorough renovation, will become the centerpiece of the cooperation project.

Babis says the National Gallery and the Paris museum will sign a memorandum of understanding in May.

The center has branches in the Spanish city of Malaga, and in Metz in northern France, and is opening another in Shanghai this year.