On 21 November 2006, the government representatives of China, the European Union, India, Japan, Korea, Russia and the United States firmly committed to building the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) [1] by signing the ITER Agreement. The ITER Organization, which was formally established on 24 October 2007 after ratification of the ITER Agreement in each Member country, is the outcome of a two-decade-long collaborative effort aimed at demonstrating the scientific and technical feasibility of fusion energy.Each ITER partner has established a Domestic Agency (DA) for the construction of ITER, and the ITER Organization, based in Cadarache, in Southern France, is growing at a steady pace. The total number of staff reached 398 people from more than 20 nations by the end of September 2009. ITER will be built largely (90%) through in-kind contribution by the seven Members. On site, the levelling of the 40 ha platform has been completed. The roadworks necessary for delivering the ITER components from Fos harbour, close to Marseille, to the site are in the final stage of completion. With the aim of obtaining First Plasma in 2018, a new reference schedule has been developed by the ITER Organization and the DAs. Rapid attainment of the ITER goals is critical to accelerate fusion development—a crucial issue today in a world of increasing competition for scarce resources.