Joint Statement on Cooperation in Quantum Information Science and Technology of the United States of America and the Federal Republic of Germany

The text of the following statement was released by the Governments of the United States of America and the Federal Republic of Germany on the occasion of the Joint Committee Meeting on Science and Technology.

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The United States of America and the Federal Republic of Germany (hereinafter referred to as Sides) recognize that science, technology, and innovation have enabled transformative capabilities across multiple sectors, from energy to health and communications to transportation, and that the foundation of this progress is the global research enterprise, and its constant creation of new knowledge, understanding, and insights.

They appreciate that Quantum Information Science and Technology (QIST) revolutionizes both our understanding of fundamental phenomena as well as the development of powerful computers, networks with novel capabilities, and sensors with unprecedented precision.

The Sides understand that the emergence of such robust technologies depends on an intensive effort to expand theoretical and practical understandings of QIST and to develop new tools for characterization, validation, and verification purposes.

They acknowledge that international partnerships are key to combine the expertise, ingenuity, and creativity of their countries to expand their fundamental understanding of QIST and thereby accelerate the realization of new technologies for the benefit of humanity; and are mindful of the terms of research and innovation programs in which both nations actively participate, and within which both advocate for international cooperation to be as open as possible.

The Sides intend to harness the spirit of science, technology, and innovation to pursue cooperation and the mutual respect it confers, and to promote QIST including but not limited to quantum computing, quantum networking, and quantum sensing, which underpins the development of society and industry.

The Sides intend to advance this agenda by:

• Embarking on good-faith cooperation that is underpinned by their shared principles, including openness, transparency, honesty, equity, fair competition, objectivity, protection and enforcement of intellectual property, and democratic values.
• Committing to create inclusive scientific research communities and tackle cross-cutting issues of common interest such as equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility, so that every person is able to fully participate and have an equal opportunity to succeed.
• Collaborating in venues such as workshops, seminars, and conferences to discuss research progress in QIST, which in turn will lead to the identification of overlapping interests and opportunities for future scientific cooperation.
• Promoting avenues to encourage a broad and inclusive QIST research and development (R&D) ecosystem to facilitate multidisciplinary research, and the sharing of, on voluntary and mutually agreed terms, research methodologies, infrastructure and data.
• Fostering shared prosperity by building a trusted global market and supply chain for QIST R&D, and supporting its growth, by engaging stakeholders including industry consortia, research leaders, policy makers, and research security stakeholders to grow the future QIST R&D marketplace based on shared engagement principles.
• Opening and encouraging opportunities for QIST connections and collaborations across QIST R&D and its value chain, given the importance of the Sides’ linked QIST ecosystems, since the solutions that need to be developed are at a scale where no single entity can develop all components for the broader ecosystem alone.
• Supporting the development of the next generation of scientists and engineers necessary to expand the field, which could include personnel exchanges and other potential mechanisms.
• Leveraging regular multilateral opportunities to discuss QIST matters of international importance and respective policy issues.
• Exploring other potential activities to be decided upon.

The Sides share the mutual understanding that cooperation enabled by this Statement will be subject to the Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany on Science and Technology Cooperation done at Washington on February 18, 2010.

The Sides intend to focus on cooperation in QIST as outlined in this vision for the mutual benefit of their countries and continue to enhance scientific cooperation under their respective leaderships.

Signed at Berlin, in duplicate, in the English and German languages, each text being equal.

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