( dpa )- French President Nicolas Sarkozy concluded a two- day state visit to Britain Thursday with a raft of bilateral cooperation agreements as he vied for press attention with his glamourous wife Carla.
Speaking at a press conference in London's Emirates stadium, home to the Arsenal soccer club, Sarkozy and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown vowed to cooperate on the future development of a new generation of nuclear power plants, to work together to ease the world credit crisis and to bring education to millions of Africans.
But the British media seemed to be more interested in Carla Bruni, Sarkozy's new wife, describing her as a "Gallic Princess Diana" and "the new Jackie Kennedy."
Beyond the glare of the media, the two leaders signed an agreement on promoting nuclear energy at a summit earlier Thursday.
Both sides called for greater transparency in the financial markets, saying in a joint communique that banks must make a complete and rapid disclosure of losses relating to the credit crisis.
France and Britain, both seriously affected by the credit crisis in recent months - had agreed on a "co-ordinated approach" to the current problems in the financial markets.
They also agreed on the fact that risk management and the functioning of the financial markets had to be strengthened.
Britain's Northern Rock mortgage lender was recently nationalized to prevent it going bankrupt, while France's Societe Generale lost billions of euros after a rogue trader made unauthorized deals.
Talks with the United States and other partners would be required to create greater stability in the markets.
Sarkozy and Brown pledged 16 million school places for Africa by 2010, the year South Africa hosts the soccer World Cup, by supporting charities to build new schools and provide teachers.
"One of the greatest challenges is that today, 33 million children in Africa are not going to school," Sarkozy said in London.
The move is supported by the world football's ruling body, Fifa.
On Wednesday, Sarkozy had also pledged more than 1,000 extra French troops for the NATO force fighting Taliban militants in Afghanistan.
When asked by reporters, Brown specifically ruled out a boycott by Britain of the Olympics opening ceremony following a brutal crackdown on Tibetan activists by Beijing, unlike Sarkozy who has refused to do so.
Sarkozy said that Britain was in a different position from France as London looked forward to hosting the next Olympics in 2012.
France had to keep all its options open, he said, especially as France would take over the presidency of the EU in the summer.
Sarkozy's visit has been marked by an emphasis on the good relations between the two neighbouring countries. On Wednesday, Brown and Sarkozy stressed their mutual wish to lift bilateral relations onto a new level.
Speaking in front of both chambers of the British Parliament, Sarkozy expressed his wish for a new "entente amicale," an Anglo- French brotherhood for the 21st century.
On Thursday, Brown spoke of strengthening ties to an "entente formidable."
Meanwhile, Bruni, an Italian-French singer, met with Brown's wife Sarah.
At a charity event the two wives plan to pledge their support for an initiative aiding pregnant women in developing countries.
The French first couple joined British Queen Elizabeth II at a state banquet at Windsor castle on Wednesday evening. The Queen said France and Britain had a respectful, but competitive relationship.
Relations between the predecessors of Brown and Sarkozy, Tony Blair and Jacques Chirac had been overshadowed by differences over the Iraq war.