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Friday March 28, 6:51 AM France, Britain vow new 'entente amicale' Photo: AFP LONDON (AFP) - France and Britain vowed Thursday to turn their "entente cordiale" into an "entente amicale", working together on issues from tackling the global credit crunch to fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan. Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, speaking at a Franco-British summit in London, agreed to hold more regular meetings to coordinate policy. "We will turn the 'entente cordiale' into the 'entente amicale'," said Brown, referring to the 104-year-old "cordial relationship" that has been strained in recent years, notably over Britain's participation in the 2003 Iraq war. "We believe that working together France and Britain can be an even greater force for good," he added as Sarkozy looked on, saying it could even become an "entente formidable" -- a wonderful relationship. As the pair toured English Premier League side Arsenal's north London stadium -- jokingly referred to as the unofficial French embassy because of the high number of French players -- there were further signs of warmer relations. Britain's defence ministry announced it had awarded a 13-billion-pound (16.6-billion-euro, 26-billion-dollar) deal to replace the country's air refuelling tankers to a European consortium led by the aerospace group EADS. In a joint statement, Brown and Sarkozy, who is on a state visit, agreed to boost cooperation on tackling climate change, securing peace in Darfur, Myanmar and the Middle East, as well as calling for "restraint and dialogue" in China over Tibet. On Afghanistan, where France has 1,500 soldiers and Britain 7,800, Sarkozy restated his intention to propose boosting French troop levels at a NATO summit next week. On Tibet, the French leader said he reserved the right to boycott the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Beijing this August, saying he would consult with other European Union leaders before making any decision. Brown, whose country hosts the 2012 games in London, said he would be attending the opening ceremony and ruled out a boycott. On economic issues, the pair -- both former finance ministers -- called for greater transparency on the financial markets, urging banks to make "full and prompt disclosure" about write-downs in the wake of the credit crunch. Further talks were needed with the United States and other countries to promote greater financial stability, they added, calling for the International Monetary Fund to be reformed to help identify and head off potential problems. IMF reform was part of a wider call for international institutions such as the G8 and UN Security Council to be updated to reflect new global realities, particularly the rise of emerging economic powers like China and India. There were renewed commitments on overseas development, including a tie-up between London, Paris and football federations to get 16 million African children into school by the time of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. And the two countries vowed to tighten up immigration controls at Channel ports -- a major bone of contention on both sides of the water with illegal immigrants using France as a final stopping-off points for Britain. But there was no specific detail on French support for a new generation of nuclear power stations in Britain, which London argues is necessary to secure future supplies amid uncertainty about oil and gas provision. Later on Thursday, Sarkozy gave a speech to business and finance leaders at London's Guildhall in the financial district, reiterating his praise of Britain's economic success and calling for investment into France. He also said the euro was "too strong" in light of the euro zone's lacklustre rate of economic growth, and reiterated his calls for greater transparency in the international financial markets. The euro was quoted at 1.5778 dollars in New York late on Wednesday.