TTCP commenced in 1957 as a bilateral activity between the United Kingdom and the United States when the US President and the UK Prime Minister made the following Declaration of Common Purpose:[1] The arrangements which the nations of the free world have made for collective defense and mutual help are based on the recognition that the concept of national self sufficiency is now out of date.
The countries of the free world are interdependent and only in genuine partnership, by combining their resources and sharing tasks in many fields, can progress and safety be found.
For our part we have agreed that our two countries will henceforth act in accordance with this principle.Immediately following the Declaration of Common Purpose, the Canadian government subscribed to the principle of interdependence and was admitted by the UK and the US.
In April 2009 there were 11 TTCP Groups: Each Technical Panel is expected to establish and monitor major collaborative projects in priority areas of defined mutual national interest.
Collectively the five nations comprising TTCP are often referred to as the "Five Eyes" community for intelligence and also participate in the following related activities: