THE entente between Medway and France became even more cordial when the chiefs of North Kent and Dunkirk's chambers of commerce signed a new agreement.

Jeff Brown, president of North Kent Chamber of Commerce, marked the centenary of the signing of the Anglo-French accord by joining representatives of Dunkirk Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the University of Dunkirk Business School to sign their own special deal. It aims to strengthen existing ties between the three organisations.

Mr Brown, operations director of the University of Kent at Medway, said the trade agreement with Jo Dairin, president of Dunkirk Chamber, and Amen Abiassi, head of the business school, demonstrated the will to contribute to European co-operation.

He said: "We also want to bring together the business communities on both sides by pooling resources. The target areas will be logistics, retail and higher education."

The partners also expect to take part in trade fairs and market research projects that will target key players across the European business market.