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International cooperation in security research

Crises and disasters are ignorant of national borders. Natural disasters (such as flooding, storms or periods of extreme heat), damage to critical infrastructure and terrorist or hacker attacks pose a threat to millions of people worldwide and cause significant economic damage. Ensuring long-term protection for the public and for critical infrastructure is a joint European and international task.

International cooperation
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Developing new perspectives and solutions in connection with global civil security issues requires bilateral cooperation with strong European and international research and technology partners. By working with players from selected countries, knowledge and technological expertise at the national level can be made available, exchanged and expanded in cross-border collaboration. Bilateral cooperation helps develop security solutions that are suitable for international markets.

At the EU level, Germany currently collaborates with France and Austria. Further international research alliances exist with India, Israel and the US, based on intergovernmental agreements.

Franco-German cooperation on civil security research projects

The cooperation between Germany and France is not only about improving civil security in the two countries themselves - it is also intended to help schieve a high level of security in Europe. The joint research projects aim to contribute to efforts to provide protection against terrorism, organised crime, natural disasters and major accidents.

Civil security research cooperation between German and Indian project partners

There is a decades-long tradition of collaborative research between Germany and India. The two countries have decided to build on this tradition and conduct joint research on strategies to increase civil security. Three bilateral pilot projects in different areas marked the start of this cooperation.

German-Isreali cooperation on civil security research projects

The great potential of our civil security research activities can only unfold fully if we work with our neighbours in Europe and partners across the globe. The aim of the bilateral call for proposals for German-Israeli projects is to improve security for the people of both countries, accelerate innovation processes (with the added benefit of promoting success on international markets) and to learn from one another. Together with the Israeli Ministry of Science, Technology and Space (MOST) and the Israeli Ministry of Economy and Industry (MOITAL), the BMBF published a call for proposals for civil security research cooperation between German and Israeli research centres, innovative companies and end users for the period October 2008 to March 2009.

Civil security research cooperation between German and Austrian project partners

Austria and Germany afford equally high importance to research and development in the field of civil security. The close cultural ties and not least the very similar structure and content of the two national security research programmes offer major potential for cross-border, joint solutions. The aim of the cooperation between Germany and Austria is to strengthen national security in both countries and security in Europe. During the first stage of this cooperation, joint research is being undertaken to contribute to protection against organised crime.