The HIRLAM-4 Project is drawing to a close and, with it, my term as Project Leader. It has been an interesting and challenging three years, and I have some regrets that it is almost over. But it has also been quite a tough job, and so there is also a sense of considerable relief that responsibility for the Project now passes to Per Undén. I am delighted that the HIRLAM Council has appointed Per, and I have every confidence that the Project will flourish under his leadership.

There has been very substantial progress during the past three years. It is for others to assess the success of the Project, but the unanimous support of the HIRLAM Council for a continuation, and indeed an intensification, of the co-operation in HIRLAM-5 is a sure sign that it is `delivering the goods'. The sample scores of the operational implementation of HIRLAM at Met Éireann in Dublin, reported on page 76, certainly indicate a clear improvement in model skill over the three years of the HIRLAM-4 Project.

Nothing would have been achieved without the ongoing hard work and dedication of the scientists working in the Project, and I would like to offer to each of you my heart-felt gratitude for your contributions to HIRLAM. I should especially like to acknowledge with warm thanks the support of the Management Group members, Bent, Gerard and Nils.

The HIRLAM Council meets at the end of November, and it is expected that the Memorandum of Understanding for the new Project will be signed at that time. The full Management Group should also be appointed then. May I wish Per Undén and his new team every success in HIRLAM-5. And may I wish all of you continuing friendly and fruitful co-operation in the Project.