At the Leuven Louvain-la-Neuve Ministerial Conference (2009), ministers responsible for higher education in the EHEA called upon European higher education institutions to “further internationalise their activities and to engage in global collaboration for sustainable development”. The ministers claimed that “the attractiveness and openness of European higher education will be highlighted by joint European actions”, while “competition on a global scale will be complemented by enhanced policy dialogue based on partnership with other regions of the world, in particular through the organisation of Bologna Policy Fora, involving a variety of stakeholders”. 

Through the 2010 Budapest-Vienna Declaration, it was acknowledged that “The Bologna Process and the resulting European Higher Education Area, being unprecedented examples of regional, cross-border cooperation in higher education, have raised considerable interest in other parts of the world and made European higher education more visible on the global map”. Following this interest, ministers committed to “look forward to intensifying our policy dialogue and cooperation with partners across the world”. 

In 2012, the Ministers from the EHEA highlighted in the Bucharest Ministerial Communiqué that “Cooperation with other regions of the world and international openness are key factors to the development of the EHEA”. They committed to “further exploring the global understanding of the EHEA goals and principles in line with the strategic priorities set by the 2007 Strategy for ”, which was previously adopted in the London Ministerial Conference (2007). They committed to take forward work in the core policy areas: improving information on, and promoting the attractiveness and competitiveness of the EHEA; strengthening cooperation based on partnership; intensifying policy dialogue; and improving recognition; in relation to the OECD/UNESCO Guidelines for Quality Provision in Cross-border Higher Education]”. It was also underlined that “the Bologna Policy Forum will continue as an opportunity for dialogue and its format will be further developed with our global partners”. 

The 2018 Paris Ministerial Communiqué committed to developing the role of higher education in securing a sustainable future for the planet and societies, and to finding ways in which the EHEA Ministers can contribute to meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals at global, European and national levels. As a follow-up to the Bologna Policy Forum, the ministers mandated the BFUG to enter into a global policy dialogue to improve regular cooperation with other regions and international organizations. This dialogue “should focus on promoting mutual learning and joint initiatives on issues of common interest, such as social inclusion and the wider role of higher education.” 

In the 2020 Rome Ministerial Communiqué, it was emphasized that “higher education will be a key actor in meeting the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030”, while ministers committed to “support higher education institutions in bringing their educational, research and innovation capacities to bear on these fundamental global objectives and to deploying resources to ensure that our higher education systems contribute to the achievement of the SDGs”. The EHEA ministers also recommitted to international dialogue on higher education values, policies, and reforms, drawing on the experiences of the EHEA as well as those of other areas of the world, and asked the BFUG to further develop and strengthen the Global Dialogue. Moreover, they welcomed the adoption of the UNESCO Global Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education and committed to ratify it promptly, in order to facilitate fair recognition of qualifications and periods of study from outside EHEA, using Lisbon Recognition Convention compliant assessment criteria and reports. 

Following the adoption of the Global Policy Forum Statement (2024), the ministers present at the Tirana Ministerial Conference asked the BFUG and its working structures to continue to develop and strengthen the dialogue and collaboration with macro regions on various levels and with appropriate interlocutors. This would include reciprocal referencing of qualifications frameworks and credit systems, ratification and implementation of the UNESCO Global Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education, as well as the second generation regional recognition conventions, and alignment and mutual understanding of quality assurance principles. 

The work for period 2024-2027 is conducted by the Coordination Group on Global Policy Dialogue.