APAT maintains contact with many international environmental bodies and institutions, in order to pursue its own institutional duties and to provide technical support to the Ministry of the Environment and Territorial Protection. The Agency is therefore promoting an increased presence of the Italian agency system in contexts of international cooperation in which similar international agencies or institutions are present, with special attention to the Mediterranean and Middle East, the Balkans, and the newest members of the EU, through the dissemination of opportunities for and means of participation in the international technical collaboration programmes of an inter-sectoral nature of the European Commission or United Nations agencies.
Recently APAT has also been working to strengthen cooperation among the environmental agencies of the newly expanded Europe by promoting high-profile dialogue on the operational challenges faced by all agencies in implementing environmental policies within their respective countries: APAT is in fact a member of the network consisting of the directors and chairmen of the European environmental protection agencies, presided over by the EEA (European Environment Agency).
At the request of the Ministry of the Environment and Territorial Protection, APAT represents the ministry at meetings and in task forces, such as: European Water Initiative, Mediterranean Commission for Sustainable Development, UNEP/MAP, SMAP agents of the EU Environment D-G, Regional Environment Centre (REC), and also for GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) and the GEO (Group on Earth Observation).
As designated by the METP, APAT is also a national focal point for the Plan Bleu and Cleaner Production UNEP-MAP regional activity centres, providing technical and scientific support upon request for the activities promoted by them; it also participates in ad hoc committees for the review and dissemination of the reports produced by these centres.
The METP also provides technical support in preparing and implementing bilateral agreements for the formulation and development of specific projects and for special synergies with other international programmes.