UK, France sign five-year digital services collaboration agreement

The UK and French governments have signed a new agreement designed to deepen technology collaboration between the two countries and strengthen ties between their respective digital industries.

UK Digital Secretary Matt Hancock is visiting Paris to announce the deal, the overriding aim of which is to boost both countries’ digital economies by forging new links between leading enterprises and research centres.

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The agreement will centre around key transformational technologies such as data analytics and AI, working together to share expertise and enhance new and existing developments.

“Over the past year, world leaders have begun to sit up and realise that data is one of their most valuable assets, and intelligently acting upon and using this data is now fundamental - this is where artificial intelligence comes in,” said Melissa Di Donato, Chief Revenue Officer, SAP Cloud ERP.

“The real value of AI is in its power to help us understand information and make decisions in a fraction of the time it took before, empowering business processes and adding value. But for this to happen we must put the necessary foundations in place to ensure AI works for all.”

It has been revealed that the Alan Turing Institute will be signing an agreement with France’s DATAIA organisation as part of the wider deal.

“The Institute and DATAIA both share a vision for building research in data science and AI which crosses disciplinary boundaries and recognises the societal implications of data and algorithms,” said Alan Wilson, CEO of The Alan Turing Institute.

Further, during the UK-France Digital Colloque, a summit comprised of 350 businesses, researchers and officials, Hancock and his French counterpart Mounir Mahjoubi will sign an accord on digital government, committing to cooperation across AI, innovation, data and digital administration.