Conference Arrangements

1. The 21st FAO Regional Conference for Africa will be held at Yaounde, Congress Hall from 21 to 25 February 2000. The inaugural ceremony of the plenary session will take place in Congress Hall at 10.00 hours on 24 February 2000.

2. The normal working hours of the conference will be 9.00 hours to 12.00 hours and 14.30 hours to 17.30 hours, unless otherwise decided by the conference.

3. An "Order of the Day" will be issued daily, giving detailed information of the conference business, the timetable of meetings items to be discussed and other information of general interest.

4. The Provisional Agenda ARC/00/1 has been circulated with the invitation letter.

5. FAO will provide the Secretary of the Conference, assisted by a number of FAO staff whose names and functions will be included in a list to be issued on the first day of the conference.

Working Languages

6. Simultaneous interpretation will be provided in English, French and Arabic. The documentation will be issued in French and in English.

Press Liaison and Information

7. For the duration of the conference, an FAO Information Officer, assisted by a Press Officer of the Government of the Republic of Cameroon, will provide contacts with the press and be responsible for matters concerning information to the public.

8. Journalists will be provided with accreditation by the Ministry of Communication. An accreditation desk will be in place at the conference venue and journalists are requested to bring two passport size photographs and a letter of assignment from their editor or employer.

Documentation

9. The working documents will be sent to all governments and organisations invited, before the holding of the Conference. Documents drafted during the conference will be available at the documents distribution desk, outside the Conference hall. The desk will also deliver mail and messages and deal with general inquiries.

Draft recommendations and amendments

10. Delegates who wish to submit draft recommendations or other documents requiring a decision by the Conference are requested to hand their texts in French or English to the Conference Secretary, if possible in three typewritten copies. Delegates wishing to circulate other written material related to the Agenda of the Conference are requested to deliver 30 copies in French and 30 copies in English to the Secretariat for distribution.

Advance communications of text of speeches and statements

11. When prepared speeches or statements are to be made, it would help the Secretariat and ensure accuracy in interpretation, if the typed copies of the texts were handed to the Secretariat of the Conference beforehand.

12. All correspondence concerning the Regional Conference should be addressed to:

The Conference Secretary

Mr T.B. Tshibaka
Conference Secretary at the FAO Regional Office for Africa,
P.O. Box 1628, Accra, Ghana
Cable: FOODAGRI, Accra, Ghana
Telex: 2139 FOODAGRI, Accra, Ghana
Fax: (233-21) 7010943/7010944
Tel: (233-21) 7010930
E-mail: [email protected]

and

The Liaison Officer

Mr. Aboubakary Abdoulaye
Secretary of State
Ministry of Agriculture
Yaounde, Cameroon
Tel: (237) 221454/224117
Fax: (237) 222012/233876

During the conference the address is:

Conference Secretary
21^st FAO Regional Conference for Africa
c/o Ministry of Agriculture
Tel: (237) 221454/224117
Fax: (237) 222012/233876
Yaounde, Cameroon

or

FAO Representative
Tel: (237) 216849/211242/202845/214827
Fax: (237) 204811
Yaounde, Cameroon

13. Postal, telephone, telex and facsimile services will be provided at the Conference premises as well as a travel and tourist information desk.

Formalities for entry into the Republic of Cameroon (RC)

14. Travellers to RC requiring an entry visa are advised to obtain one from a diplomatic mission or consulate of the Republic of Cameroon (RC) prior to the date of travel. In the event that no diplomatic mission or consulate exists in a particular country, travellers should inform the Liaison Officer and the Conference Secretary, at the addresses indicated in paragraph 12 above, providing full name as in the travel document, date and place of birth, nationality, passport number, date and place of issue, validity and expected duration of stay in RC in order to ensure that a visa will be granted on arrival.

15. Travellers arriving in RC coming from infected areas would require a valid international certificate of vaccination against yellow fever. Cholera immunization is required only from travellers from infected areas.

16. Participants are advised to provide advance notice, at least three weeks prior to arrival, of the name of carrier, flight number, time of arrival and other related information to the Liaison Officer in RC to ensure that they are properly met on arrival at International Airport Yaounde Nsimalen. Participants are advised to mark their luggage clearly in order to facilitate identification.

17. The authorities of RC will make special arrangements for participants on their arrival, assist them with formalities regarding immigration, visas, customs, collection of luggage and provide them with transport to their respective hotels. Similar arrangements will be made at the end of the Conference.

18. All participants to the conference are advised to finalize, at an early date, return travel arrangements and immediately on arrival in RC contact the travel desk at the conference premises for special internal visits for spouses and for the reconfirmation of their departure date and time. Departing visitors pay an embarkation fee of US$16¹.

Foreign exchange and banking, communication facilities, and travel/tourist office

19. There is no restriction on the amount or kind of foreign currency or travellers cheques which may be imported to the RC. The foreign exchange desk and banks will provide the necessary information and measures of exchange rates and transfer. A bank/foreign exchange desk will be available on the conference premises. The monetary unit is the CFAF. At the time of going to press the exchange rate is approximately 624.471CFAF to 1 United States Dollar.

20. Medical and first aid services will be available at the conference premises. Medical services could also be provided by hotels.

Hotel accommodation

21. Requests for hotel reservations should be made on the printed form appearing in Appendix A as soon as possible, by sending the original to the Conference Liaison Officer in Yaounde and a copy to the Conference Secretary in Accra (see paragraph 12 above), not later than 28 January 2000.

22. Accommodation will be available for participants and their families at the hotels listed in Appendix B. Where selected hotels are not available for any reason, every effort will be made to obtain comparable hotel accommodation for participants.

Registration

23. All delegates and observers are requested to register, soon after arrival, at Yaounde Congress Hall so that they can be provided with identification tags. The registration desk will be open on 20 February 2000 from 10.00 hours to 18.00 hours and on 21 February 2000 from 8.00 hours. The Conference secretariat will issue a Provisional List of participants on the first day of the Conference. The secretariat should be notified of any corrections or additions to this list. Only registered participants will be issued special badges which will permit them to enter the Conference meeting venues.

Altitude

24. Yaounde is located between latitude 4 and 5 degrees south of the equator and is 1000 metres above sea level. .

Weather

25. During the month of February the weather in Yaounde is hot. It is advisable to bring light clothing.

Time Zone

26. The country is on GMT + 1 Time Zone.

Voltage

27. The voltage in Yaounde is 220 volts, 50 cycles AC.

Customs

28. Limited amounts of duty free items are allowed to visitors, but they must be declared. Professional articles and samples, including those imported by businessmen and commercial travellers, items like cameras (film) photographic equipment, radio equipment and sound recording apparatus, and equipment imported by foreign correspondents or any other specialized materials imported for professional use or sporting fire arms are subject to special permit which is to be obtained from the Ministry of Communication, Tel: (237) 230286, Yaounde, Cameroon.

The export of souvenirs which are not worth more than US$3,122 and Wildlife products accompanied with an appropriate permit documents are allowed provided they are declared. However, clearance from the Minist�re des Relations Ext�rieures (MINREX), Yaounde, Cameroon, Tel: (237) 211599, is required.

APPENDIX A

HOTEL RESERVATION AND NOTIFICATION OF ARRIVAL FORM

1. Name:_________________________________________________________
                 Family name                                             Given name

2. Country/Organization:_____________________________________________

3. Title and position:________________________________________________

4. Address (postal and cable):_________________________________________

5. Attending as: Delegate _______ Observer _______ Secretariat _________

6. Accompanied by spouse: Yes ______  No ______

    Name of spouse:_________________________________________________

7. Dates of anticipated stay in Yaounde:_____________ to _____________

8. Arrival information: Date: ___________ Hour: ______________

    Airline and flight No:________________ From (city):________________

9. Hotel accommodation desired: Single ________ Double_______

10. Please indicate hotel names by order of preference: A________ B:______

NOTE: Each participant is required to complete the above form in duplicate and send one copy to each of the addresses below as soon as possible, preferably one month before the Conference, even if complete flight information is unavailable. You may cable, fax or e-mail flight information details at a later date.

APPENDIX B

LIST OF HOTELS

The following hotels are available for use by participants

1 See 19 below.

2 With the exception of Hotel Makombe all the hotels mentioned in Appendix B are approximately three kilometres from the Conference premises.