The delegations of the two countries used the meeting, which usually takes place every two years, to exchange views on current developments in the fields of research and innovation and on the possible expansion of cooperation in these areas. The Swiss delegation was led by Martina Hirayama, State Secretary for Education, Research and Innovation, and the German delegation by Marcus Pleyer, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space. Representatives of institutions from both countries also took part in the discussions.
A particular focus of the discussions was the promotion of innovation and cooperation in key technologies. Against this background, Switzerland and Germany signed a declaration of intent at the end of the meeting to strengthen cooperation in research and innovation. In doing so, the two countries reaffirm their will to further strengthen their already close and diverse relations and to open up new opportunities for cooperation. The focus is, among other things, particularly on topics such as digitalisation, artificial intelligence, sustainability and robotics. The MoU creates a framework for enhanced exchange between researchers and institutions and for the development and implementation of joint activities.
Germany is by far Switzerland's most important partner country in the field of education, research and innovation. The intensive cooperation and excellent networking between researchers as well as research and innovation institutions of the two states are reflected, among other things, in the nearly 1300 German-Swiss project collaborations financed so far under the EU's research and innovation programme Horizon Europe (2021–2027). Since 2020, the Swiss National Science Foundation has also funded more than 4600 projects with partners from Germany. Furthermore, since 1985, more than 200 projects with participation from Switzerland and Germany have been realised through the EUREKA research initiative. In addition, an agreement on the mutual recognition of professional qualifications has existed since 1937. This was updated in 2021 to take account of developments in vocational education and training and its scope of application was expanded.