CAIRO, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Egypt received on Wednesday five stolen Pharaonic wall paintings from France, said Egyptian Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass in a statement.

The paintings arrived at the Egyptian Museum after a meeting between Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday, said Hawass, adding that the paintings would be returned to its original location in Luxor later.

Earlier in October, Egypt announced to suspend cooperation with France's Louvre Museum till it returns the five stolen Pharaonic paintings.

"I have sent a letter one year ago to the Louvre Museum asking it to return the ancient paintings that were stolen from Luxor and smuggled out of the country more than 29 years ago," said Hawass.

The Louvre Museum said it decided to return the fragments after Hawass severed ties with the museum in October.

Hawass also pressed Britain last week to return the Rosetta Stone, an ancient stone tablet which is the key to the decipherment of hieroglyphs and seen as an icon of Egypt. He denied that his countrymen were seeking to steal it back.