The LHC proton collider project at CERN is essential for progress in the field and ICFA hopes that it will be completed as early as possible. This facility will address today's key questions and open a new energy domain. Its importance is indicated by the commitment of CERN non-Member States to support both the facility and experiments. The LHC is becoming a true world facility. We note with concern recent indications of possible problems in CERN Member States with LHC funding.
Stable funding is important for effective realization of such large projects.
It now appears that an engineering design study can begin in the next few years that will result in a proposal for a specific project. We believe that such a facility should be realized as a worldwide enterprise on a basis developed jointly by interested scientific communities and their governments. The Seminar included reviews of the ongoing programs and projects close to completion at the world's particle accelerator laboratories. Difficult financial climates in most regions of the world have required hard choices. Even so, ICFA notes impressive progress and anticipates that the coming few years will result in substantial advances in our understanding of the nature of matter and forces.