The government will expand cooperation on quantum technologies with leading countries including Canada, Britain and the European Union, covering joint research, talent exchanges, industrialisation, trials and standardisation.

The Ministry of Science and ICT said on Thursday it held government-to-government dialogues and roundtables with Canada, Britain and the EU around Quantum Korea 2026 to discuss ways to cooperate on quantum technologies.

Major countries have recently regarded quantum technologies as a key technology affecting national security and industrial competitiveness, and have stepped up competition to secure the technology and tightened export controls. Quantum technology is a complex field that requires the combination of basic science with materials, parts and equipment, precision manufacturing, software and skilled talent. This is increasing the importance of cooperation that links national research capabilities and industrial ecosystems.

The ministry said the talks covered joint research and talent exchanges with Canada, industrialisation, trials and standardisation for quantum computing with Britain, and participation in research and development programmes and cooperation between industries and clusters with the EU.

The ministry held a Korea-Canada government dialogue and roundtable on July 1, a day before Quantum Korea opened.

Participants included officials from the ministry, the National Research Foundation of Korea, the Korea Quantum Industry Association and the Quantum Information Research Support Center. The Canadian side included Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, the Canadian embassy in Seoul, the Quantum Industry Canada, Xanadu, Anyon Systems and BTQ Technologies. Industry, academia, research and government representatives from both countries attended.

The two sides reviewed existing cooperation, including basic research collaboration between the National Research Foundation of Korea and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, mission-oriented R&D programmes of the National Research Council Canada, and talent exchanges between the Quantum Information Research Support Center and Mitacs, a Canadian organisation for research talent exchanges.

They also discussed ways to increase participation by companies and industry associations in both countries by using Korea's Grand Manufacturing Challenge, which is planned for 2027, and the international joint research frameworks Eureka and Eurostars. The Grand Manufacturing Challenge is an R&D project to secure domestic companies' full-stack quantum computer manufacturing capabilities and bottleneck technologies.

At the Korea-Britain roundtable held on July 2, the focus was on cooperation in industrialisation and commercialisation of quantum computing technologies. Participants included the ministry, the National Research Foundation of Korea, KAIST, the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information, the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science, the Korea Quantum Industry Association, Britain's Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the UK Quantum Industry Association, the National Physical Laboratory and the British embassy in Seoul.

The two sides discussed possible cooperation between Korea's Grand Manufacturing Challenge and Britain's quantum technology procurement competition programme ProQure. ProQure is a programme in which the British government becomes the first buyer of quantum technologies to link public-sector demand and industry capabilities, and support companies' early market entry and early adoption of quantum technologies.

They will also pursue ways to increase exchanges between the Korea Quantum Industry Association and the UK Quantum Industry Association and identify international cooperation programmes that involve company participation. They agreed to continue follow-up cooperation on quantum technology standardisation, building measurement and evaluation systems, researcher exchanges and training specialised talent.

The ministry held a Korea-EU government dialogue on Thursday with the European Commission's Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology, which is in charge of the EU's quantum policy. The talks followed a June Korea-EU summit at which the two sides agreed to expand joint research and researcher exchanges in future industries such as AI and quantum technologies.

The two sides discussed expanding links among quantum infrastructure and clusters and energising joint research through Horizon Europe, the EU's research and innovation programme, to put the summit cooperation direction into concrete terms. They also discussed ways to expand participation opportunities for Korean researchers and companies in Horizon Europe's quantum field and ease participation restrictions such as technology readiness level requirements.

They will also expand exchanges between the Korea Quantum Industry Association and the European Quantum Industry Consortium. They agreed to identify follow-up cooperation tasks involving companies, research institutes and startups based on the Korea-EU digital partnership.

At a Quantum Networking Reception held on July 2, First Vice Minister Hyeok-chae Koo (구혁채) attended and met about 100 overseas delegates, including government officials from 16 countries such as Australia, Canada, the EU, Britain and the Netherlands, as well as industry, academic and research experts and staff from foreign embassies in Seoul.

After the reception, Koo visited an international research and industry exhibition and toured booths by major domestic and overseas research institutes and companies including the Korea Institute of Science and Technology, the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science, the Agency for Defense Development, Seoul National University, SK Telecom, KT, IonQ and IBM.

Koo said, "This is an important battleground in which quantum technological capabilities determine a country's future competitiveness and the industrial landscape." He said, "As the competition for technological hegemony intensifies, it is difficult for any one country's capabilities alone to handle the speed and scale of innovation, so we must closely connect research, talent and industrial ecosystems with countries we can trust."