The Initiative for the Integration of Regional Infrastructure in South America (IIRSA) is an institutional mechanism aimed at coordinating intergovernmental actions adopted by the twelve South American countries with a view to building a common agenda to foster projects for the integration of transport, energy, and communications infrastructure.

The creation of IIRSA was decided at the Summit of South American Presidents held in August 2000 in the city of Brasilia. Throughout its ten years of existence, IIRSA has become an essential forum for infrastructure planning by the twelve South American countries from a shared and regional vision of the opportunities and challenges posed by the subcontinent. Under the umbrella of IIRSA, South America has, for the first time, acted as a single, integrated unit, the most significant results being the following:

• The development and application of the Indicative Territorial Planning Methodology, which gave rise to a consensus-built Portfolio of more than 500 transport, energy and communications infrastructure projects, organized in nine Integration and Development Hubs (EIDs);
• The creation of the Implementation Agenda Based on Consensus (AIC) 2005-2010, consisting in a set of 31 priority projects having a high impact on the physical integration of the territory;
• The design of projects related to Sectoral Integration Processes (PSIs); and
• The development and application of new planning methodologies and tools.

As from 2011, IIRSA is included in the UNASUR South American Infrastructure and Planning Council as its technical forum for South American physical integration planning issues, which marks the beginning of a new stage in the activities of the Initiative.

Milestones in the Evolution of IIRSA 2000-2010: