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provided this kind of support for international collaboration in fusion 

 through the Summit process. A Fusion Working Group (FWG) has been estab- 

 lished through the Summit process to provide a political framework for 

 developing collaboration. In addition, a Technical Working Party has begun 

 work to establish a technical consensus on the nature of this collaboration. 

 It is with real interest, therefore, that we look to the Summit process as a 

 possible means of regularizing political input to the program and developing 

 a technical consensus in all the participating countries. 



Enhanced, effective international collaboration must also be built on the 

 success and good will cultivated in previous small-scale activities. Each 

 national program recognizes that for increased collaboration to succeed, a 

 strong domestic program must be maintained in order to make use of the 

 results from the collaboration. Therefore, significant trust will be 

 required to conclude collaborative agreements and to manage their implemen- 

 tation in concert with national program activities. ^ 



Our years of experience in international collaboration have led us to 

 appreciate fully the difficulty Involved in reaching and implementing 

 agreements, even among political allies. Among the important lessons 

 learned in fusion from previous collaborations are that: 



o time spent to understand foreign institutional relationships and 



cultural nuances is well spent; 

 o confidence in the integrity and capability of the partners on both the 



political and technical level" is required by all sides; 

 o careful planning, preparation, and domestic coordination are essential; 



