Transnational cooperation is only successful when based on dialogue. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) engages in regular exchange with the member countries of the African Union (AU) via the dialogue platforms of the EU. Its aim is to strengthen the partnership in science in research. 

The High Level Policy Dialogue between Europe and Africa

The High Level Policy Dialogue (HLPD) on science, technology and innovation is the platform for dialogue between the EU and the AU on research and development policy. The BMBF represents Germany in this dialogue. The purpose of the HLPD is to define and implement long-term priorities aimed at enhancing African-European cooperation in science, technology and innovation. Partnerships are currently implementing priorities in three areas defined by the HLPD: Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA), Climate Change and Sustainable Energy (CCSE) and Africa-Europe Innovation (INNO).

The long-term goal is to establish a jointly funded biregional partnership in research, science, technology and practice.

Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) Regional Platform in Research and Innovation

Since the Barcelona Process was launched by the foreign ministers of the EU and the southern Mediterranean region in November 1995, the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) regional Platform in research and Innovation (formerly the Euro-Mediterranean Group of Senior Officials in Research and Innovation (EU-Med GSO)) has played a key role in promoting Euro-Mediterranean cooperation in research and innovation. The members of this policy dialogue platform for Euro-Mediterranean research cooperation are high-level representatives from the research ministries of the 42 UfM partner countries. The purpose of the UfM platform – in addition to information exchange and the general coordination of activities – is to prepare the Euro-Mediterranean ministerial conferences. One important aim of the UfM platform is to launch joint projects and initiatives on the basis of agreed strategic priorities. One such example is the PRIMA initiative (see below), which originated from a ministerial conference prepared on the UfM platform.

Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area (PRIMA)

The international funding programme PRIMA (Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area) was launched in early 2018 to apply research and innovation to effectively tackle the challenges of the Mediterranean region in the areas of agro-food systems and water scarcity. Based on a strategic research and innovation agenda, the partnership announces annual calls in the priority themes "water management", "farming systems" and "agro-food value chains".

PRIMA, a measure under Art. 185 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), involves a total of 19 Participating States in Europe and in the southern and eastern Mediterranean region as well as the European Commission. Participating States include eleven EU Member States (Croatia, Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain) and eight Mediterranean Partner Countries (Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey).

The total budget for PRIMA is about €500 million over a period of 10 years. The European Commission will contribute a share of €220 million (from Horizon 2020) and another €274 million will be provided by the 19 participating countries. The BMBF has agreed to provide €20 million over the 10-year course of the project.