DESY is a globally acting research centre. The staff unit “International affairs” supports the directorate in preparing and implementing DESY´s international cooperation strategy. This includes, for example, the conception and organisation of high-level DESY delegation travels, such as travels to Israel (2018) or to Armenia (2019). The team fosters and develops partnerships with DESY´s key partners, such as the European Nuclear Research Centre (CERN) in Geneva, the National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC) in the USA, the High Energy Accelerator Research Organisation (KEK) in Japan, and with numerous partner laboratories in Russia and in many other countries worldwide. Together with our partners, we are exploring and initiating new, strategically relevant directions of our collaborative relations.