Co-operation agreements can be made between EMBO, EMBC and
- the government of a non-EMBC Member State,
- a national body from a non-EMBC Member State, or
- other organizations.
These agreements allow scientists from a specific country or region to gain access to a subset of the EMBO programmes and activities.
The new partner is expected to contribute with a fixed amount towards the related costs of these activities. All activities should involve scientists from the scientific communities represented by EMBO/EMBC and by the new partner.
When the co-operation agreement is established with the government or a national body of a sovereign state, it should be regarded as an exploratory instrument and a stepping-stone towards associate membership of EMBC.
Current partnerships between EMBO, EMBC and external organizations were established with the National Agency for Research and Development (ANID) of Chile and with the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) of Taiwan.
EMBO has a co-operation agreement with the Japan Science and Technology (JST) Agency.