A unique event to increase cross-Channel co-operation has been hailed a great success.

The conference and exhibition, staged by Sussex Enterprise, with sponsorship from BOC Edwards, attracted business leaders from across South-East England and Northern France to discuss issues ranging from collaboration between universities and business to sector development, transport links and international tourism.

Speakers from major cross-Channel companies, inclu- ding Thomson CSF, were joined by representatives from the Government Office for the South-East, the South East England Development Agency and representatives for the Upper Normandy region.

Jim Hicks, managing director of Sussex-based Amplicon Liveline, said: "We found the conference very worthwhile. We made some good contacts in France and learned a lot about the challenges that face businesses and government in our InterReg region on both sides of the Channel."

Claude Guillermet, directeur general of ESIGELEC, a top French engineering college, said: "From contacts made at the Transfrontier Conference we have begun four new projects which we will be discussing further with partners in Sussex, including the Technology Hub at Sussex University, which has skills and facilities which are complementary to ours."

Among the issues to emerge were the need to develop partnerships between airlines and regional airports such as Shoreham, the potential to set up network groups to improve communications between firms and universities, the need to establish a skills database of companies with advanced engineering software design skills to overcome difficulties faced by local businesses, and the organisation of international exhibitions.

Research by Sussex Enterprise to understand the obstacles faced by businesses setting up bases in neighbouring regions found common cross-Channel frustrations.

For French companies looking to expand into Sussex, the barriers included the different culture and ways of doing business, the higher cost of living in the UK, poor transport links and, at present, the strength of sterling.

For Sussex counterparts looking to expand in the other direction, learning the language was cited as an additional obstacle, as were the complexities of the paperwork and admini- stration required by the French authorities.