Science and Technology Cooperation

Joint Statement on U.S. – France Science and Technology Cooperation 

On December 6 and 7, the  U.S. Department of State hosted the sixth United States - France Joint Committee Meeting (JCM)  on Science and Technology Cooperation.   Mr. Reece Smyth, Director, and Dr. Sarah Staton, Deputy Director of the Office of Science & Technology Cooperation at the U.S. Department of State joined Mr. Jean-François Pactet, Deputy Director for Culture, Education, Research and Network Coordination, Directorate-General for Global Affairs at the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and Dr. Claire Giry,  Director General of Research and Innovation at the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, for the Government of France to convene the meeting.  Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Dr. Eric Lander, joined French Minister of Higher Education, Research and Innovation Dr. Frédérique Vidal and his Excellency Philippe Etienne, Ambassador of France to the United States and to provide opening remarks.

The JCM provides a regular opportunity to exchange views on some of the most important science and technology endeavors in our countries and to prioritize future collaboration.   This JCM brought together representatives from government agencies and research organizations from both the United States and France to discuss environmental and climate sciences, health research, and emerging technologies. The discussions culminated a series of productive roundtables representative of the French and American research landscape in these areas that were held in 2021. Both sides endorsed continued research cooperation, including opportunities to enhance collaboration in pandemic preparedness, the nexus of mental health and addiction, climate change and mitigation with a focus on hydrogen technology, marine biodiversity conservation, quantum information science, and artificial intelligence. The JCM also emphasized the importance of progressing science for society and science communication and increasing public understanding of climate change, ethical and trustworthy AI, and other subjects. Both sides expressed a common will to enhance scientific cooperation in the priority themes identified above with low and middle-income countries, with a focus on capacity building.

Following the discussions on thematic topics, the two sides expressed an intent to explore a framework agreement between U.S. National Science Foundation and the French National Research Agency, to advance scientific data sharing, to enhance personnel exchange, and hold workshops in support of the areas identified throughout the event.