With a view to the active promotion of its international cooperation program, the PWRI has concluded several Agreements of Cooperation with overseas research institutes. Under these agreements, workshops, joint research projects and the exchange of research personnel are conducted.

Several lecturers are dispatched overseas to participate in civil engineering training programs as part of a program for the education and training of overseas technical staff being conducted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Examples of these dispatches include training programs on flood-related disaster mitigation, comprehensive management of river and dam, volcanology and comprehensive sediment-related disaster prevention measures, seismology and earthquake engineering, seminar on road administration and comprehensive bridge engineering.

Specialist personnel are dispatched to developing countries as part of the international cooperation programs being conducted by JICA and other similar agencies. These specialist personnel teach local staff about relevant technologies used in various development projects, oversea local project operations, or carry out locally-based technical research.
Specialist personnel are also dispatched during times of natural disasters to conduct relevant surveys when requests are received for the dispatch of such personnel from government or academic bodies, or research institutes from both Japan and overseas.

The collapse accident in a bridge that carried Interstate 35W across the Mississippi River in Minnesota, United States occurred on August 1, 2007. A PWRI staff　member was dispatched by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism as a member of technical survey team. The team conducted field surveys about the accident situation and the action of the accident-related organizations for reference on the policy of the highway bridge maintenance in our country.

On December 1, 2006, heavy rains during Typhoon Durian caused major mudslides of volcanic ash and boulders on Mount Mayon, a volcano on the outskirts of the city of Legaspi, on the Philippine island of Luzon. A PWRI staff member was dispatched to join the mudslide disaster survey team of the Flood Control and Sabo Engineering Center of the Philippine Government Department of Public Works and Highways.

A PWRI member of staff was dispatched to the Indonesian island of Java to join the team conducting the Second Needs Assessment Survey for the Restoration and Support of the Earthquake-affected Area in Central Java, after the major earthquake that occurred in the Indian Ocean close to the city of Yogyakarta on May 27, 2006. The team conducted surveys to ascertain the landslide damage in and around the city of Yogyakarta caused by the earthquake and volcanic activity. The team submitted proposals to the relevant government-affiliated bodies for earthquake-related landslide countermeasures.