US eyes improved global relations through science diplomacy[fr][de] 

According to science and foreign policy leaders, the "time is opportune" for an ambitious US science diplomacy effort.

The Centre for Science Diplomacy , established by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS ), is opening "at a time when the United States faces substantial challenges in its relations with other nations," notes the AAAS. It notably points to the failure of traditional diplomatic efforts with countries such as North Korea, Iran and Middle Eastern countries and adds that public attitudes towards the US appear to be "at a nadir" in many countries.

The centre's aim will be "to promote and support the role of science and scientists as bridge builders and to raise the profile in both the foreign policy and scientific communities".

According to Vaughan Turekian, the Director of the new institution, the centre will be geared towards issues such as climate change, energy, sustainability, innovation and health issues and will contribute to a "long and methodical building of relationships". The centre will, according to AAAS, work with both the science and foreign policy communities to identify collaborative projects that could help strengthen civil society relationships between nations, "especially when official relations do not exist or are extremely strained".

"Science and technology remain among the most admired aspects of American society," wrote  the US Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs, Paula J. Dobriansky in 2006, highlighting their importance in strengthening America's "soft power" and the US' ability to win worldwide respect through, for example, the development of lifesaving vaccines or sharing images of its Hubble telescope.

As for the EU, the soft power bloc has already signed specific research and technology cooperation agreements with a number of countries and, according to the Commission, over 100 countries all over the world are now involved in EU research programmes. The current research framework programme FP7 also has an action line dedicated to international cooperation for and with researchers from third countries. It namely supports third country researchers to undertake research projects in Europe. 

The aim of the EU's international science and technology policy is, according to the Commission, to build strategic partnerships with non-EU countries in selected fields of science to help EU become more competitive and play a leading role globally. The aim is also to engage third countries' best brains to work with and in Europe and enable EU universities, research institutions and businesses to establish contacts in those countries to promote research synergies on a global scale.  

The Commission's 2007 review of the European Research Area (ERA) identified opening ERA to the world through increased international research co-operation as one of its main priorities. As a follow-up to the review, the EU executive will present a Communication on a strategic European framework for international science and technology cooperation in September 2008.