Within a globalized economy with a world-wide competition, it is illusory to think it is possible to do everything by oneself. The strategies of alliance, partnership and collaboration are imperative.

The Port of Lille has integrated very quickly into this reality by being implied in many collaborative structures. Because of that, it has become a member of the AFPI (French Association of the Inner Harbors) whose he holds the presidency, of the FEPI (European Federation of the Inner Harbors), of the International Association Cities and Ports (A.I.V.P), of the ASLOG, of the Circle of the Container and Intermodal Transport, of the Northern Club Export, among others.

The Port of Lille is associated with the Autonomous Port of Dunkirk within the framework of the GIE North Container Service (NCS), which associates a part of the river that connects the Ports of Lille, Prouvy and Dourges Delta 3 with that of Dunkirk, and a maritime phase of feedering between Dunkirk, Le Havre, Felixstowe and Rotterdam. The creation of this GIE aims to reinforce the position of the Port of Dunkirk in the Northwestern European Ranking by helping it with better draining containerized flows of its Hinterland, in particular those of Lille Metropole.

In order to prepare as well as possible the advent of the connection Seine-North Europe, and to benefit from opportunities that will be opened by this inland waterway with a dimension of 4.400 tons between the Basin of the North of France and that of the Seine, the Port of Lille and the Autonommous Port of Paris created in 2004 a common structure. This GIE, baptized "Ports of the North of France", aims to profit and grow from the experience and the know-how gained by the two establishments as regards multimodality.