The Fifth International Conference on the Physics of Highly Charged Ions drew more than 200 participants, providing an excellent overview of this growing field. Important technical developments and experimental results in electron-ion collisions were reported. The merging of fast ion beams from accelerators or storage rings with advanced high-intensity electron-beam targets has yielded data of unprecedented quality on radiative and dielectronic recombination, providing stringent tests of theory. Long-awaited technical innovations in electron-impact excitation measurements were also reported. The level of activity in multicharged ion-surface interactions has increased. More sophisticated experimental studies of the neutralization process have shown the inadequacy of previously accepted mechanisms, and theoretical activity in this area is just being initiated. The IAEA meetings addressed atomic and molecular data needs for fusion research, with ITER providing a key focus. Such data are especially critical to modeling and diagnostics of the edge plasma. The ALADDIN data base system has been universally accepted and has streamlined the exchange of numerical data among data centers and the fusion community. The IAEA continues to play a pivotal role in the identification of data needs, and in the coordination of data compilation and research activities for fusion applications.