ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC. WTO/ESCAP/ARTNeT Regional Seminar on Agriculture Negotiations for Asia-Pacific Economies

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1 FOR PARTICIPANTS ONLY 17 February 2006 ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC WTO/ESCAP/ARTNeT Regional Seminar on Agriculture Negotiations for Asia-Pacific Economies March 2006 Xian, China INFORMATION NOTE FOR PARTICIPANTS Venue and dates 1. The WTO/ESCAP/ARTNeT Regional Seminar on Agriculture Negotiations for Asia-Pacific Economies will be convened at A Fang Ballroom, Hyatt Regency Xian, 158 Dong Da Street, Xian, Shaanxi , China (tel: (86-29) , fax: (86-29) ) from 29 to 31 March The opening of the Seminar will be at 0830 hours on Wednesday, 29 March The subsequent sessions will be held from 0900 to 1700 hours. Working language of the Seminar and documents 3. The Seminar will be conducted in English, and all documentation will be issued only in English. No interpretation service will be available. Information and documents about the Seminar are available at < Organizing secretariats 4. The Seminar is jointly organized by the secretariats of WTO and UNESCAP and the Department for WTO Affairs, Ministry of Commerce, Government of China. For further information concerning substantive preparations and organizational aspects of the Seminar, please contact: UNESCAP secretariat Ms. Mia Mikic Economic Affairs Officer Trade Policy Section Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific The United Nations Building Rajadamnern Nok Avenue Bangkok 10200, Thailand Ms. Waree Poontavilap Programme Assistant Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific The United Nations Building Rajadamnern Nok Avenue Bangkok 10200, Thailand Tel: (66-2) <mikic@un.org> Tel: (66-2) <poontavilap.unescap@un.org>

2 2 For further information concerning local organizational and logistical aspects of the Seminar, please contact: Government of China (i) For visa issuance Ms. Ying LIU Section Chief Enquiry and Technical Support Division Ministry of Commerce No. 2 Dong Chan An Avenue Beijing , China Tel: (86-10) <liuying@mofcom.gov.cn> <talktoying@sohu.com>, Ms. Wei ZHANG Programme Officer Enquiry and Technical Support Division Ministry of Commerce No. 2 Dong Chan An Avenue Beijing , China Tel: (86-10) <zhangwei_wto@mofcom.gov.cn> (ii) For accommodation and relevant conference arrangements in Xian Mr. Wei WANG Director WTO and Fair Trade Division Shaanxi Provincial Business Department Xincheng, Xian, Shaanxi China Tel: (86-29) Fax: (86-29) <wangwei1953@hotmail.com> Ms. Lisa LI Assistant Sales Manager Hyatt Regency Xian 158 Dong Da Street Xian, Shaanxi China Tel: (86-29) Fax: (86-29) <reservation@hyattxian.com.cn> Visa requirements 5. Participants should obtain an entry visa to China from the Embassy of the People s Republic of China or Consulate located in their respective countries before departing for Xian. 6. Participants are also advised to obtain, where necessary, a transit visa for places en route to Xian before the commencement of their journey. 7. Valid passports or other travel documents recognized by the Government of China are required by all participants. The former must be valid for at least six months at date of entry and the latter should be endorsed with a valid re-entry permit. For visa authorization, participants are requested to send well in advance preferably before 1 March 2006 information on their passport particulars (i.e., name (according to passport), nationality, date and place of birth, passport number, date and place of issue, expiry date, and place for visa collection) to the Department of WTO Affairs, Ministry of Commerce, China. A visa authorization request form is attached. Upon receipt of this form, the Department of WTO Affairs, Ministry of Commerce, will arrange to send the visa authorization to the Embassy of the People s Republic of China or Consulate located in participants respective countries with copy to participants, for their visa application. Vaccinations requirements 8. No vaccinations are required for participants.

3 3 Registration and identification badges 9. Participants are requested to register and obtain meeting badges at the registration desk, located in front of the meeting room between 08:00 to 08:30 on the opening day. Participants who do not register on the opening day are requested to do so on subsequent day, to ensure that their names appear on the list of participants. Without registration, names of participants will not be included in the list. Hotel accommodation 10. For convenience, accommodation has been arranged for participants at Hyatt Regency Xian where the Seminar will be held. The hotel address is as follows: Hyatt Regency Xian 158 Dong Da Street Xian, Shaanxi China Attn: Ms. Lisa LI, Assistant Sales Manager Tel: (86-29) , Fax: (86-29) Web site: xian.regency.hyatt.com Special rate net/room/night, inclusive of service charges and VAT For room only For room with breakfast Standard single/double RMB 750 RMB 850 Exchange rate is US$ 1.00 = RMB 8.04 (on 15 February 2006). Hotel bills will be settled individually by participants. 11. All WTO/ESCAP-sponsored participants are advised to stay at the above hotel and forward their request for room reservation and flight details (if available) at the earliest preferably before 1 March 2006 in accordance with the attached hotel reservation request form. Participants are kindly required to send their completed forms directly to the hotel with copy to the local organizer and the ESCAP secretariat for follow up. Upon receipt of the hotel request form, confirmation on room reservation will be advised by the hotel accordingly. 12. Participants are advised to remind the hotel front desk assistant and cashier of their participation in the Seminar when checking in and out, in order to enjoy special rates. Transportation on arrival and departure 13. The Ministry of Commerce of China is pleased to provide a complimentary single round-trip airport transfer (airport-hyatt Regency Xian-airport). If participants wish to avail of this facility, they are requested to send their confirmation and flight details to the hotel before 1 March 2006, as indicated in the attached hotel reservation request form. Foreign exchange 14. All major convertible currencies and travelers cheques can be easily exchanged for Chinese Yuan at the prevailing market rates. As of 15 February 2006, US$ 1.00 was equivalent to RMB In case participants need Chinese currency upon arrival at Xian, they can use foreign exchange counters at banks inside the airport after clearing customs formalities. Financial and administrative arrangements

4 4 15. In those cases where the participation costs are borne by WTO/ESCAP, the financial responsibilities will be limited to meeting travel expenses as indicated in paragraphs 17, 18 and 19 below. Any other expenses will be the sole responsibilities of the participants themselves, for example: (i) All expenses in the home country incidental to travel abroad, including expenditure for visa, medical examination, inoculations and other such miscellaneous items and internal travel to and from the airport of arrival and departure in the home country; (ii) Salary and related allowances for the participants during the period of the Seminar; (iii) Cost incurred by participants in respect of insurance, accident insurance, medical bills or hospitalization fees in connection with attending the Seminar; (iv) Compensation in the event of death or disability of participants in connection with attending the Seminar; (v) Any loss of or damage to personal property of participants while attending the Seminar or losses or damages claimed by third parties as a result of any negligence on the part of the participants; (vi) Any other expenses of a personal nature, not directly related to the purpose of the Seminar. 16. Participants are advised to ensure that their return bookings are confirmed soon after their arrival in Xian. For this purpose, the Information Desk at the venue of the seminar will render necessary assistance to participants for reconfirmation of their air tickets for their return journey. 17. For participants whose travel are sponsored by WTO/UNESCAP, UNDP offices in their respective countries will be authorized to issue them the most direct economy round-trip air ticket (home country-xian-home country) to arrive at Xian on 28 March 2006 and depart Xian on 1 April For participants whose countries do not have UNDP offices, UNESCAP will send travel advice to respective airlines in their countries for ticket collection. Participants will be provided during the Seminar with a daily subsistence allowance (DSA) at the prevailing United Nations rate, which is currently equivalent to US$ 195 per day for 4 days (28-31 March 2006, US$ 195 x 4 days = US$ 780) plus one extra day (US$ 195) in lieu of miscellaneous and terminal expenses. DSA in connection with transit expenses for places en route to and from Xian (according to the authorized travel route) will be reimbursed upon participants submission of their completed UN voucher for reimbursement of expenses (F.10 form) to the ESCAP secretariat, within two weeks after the return to their respective countries. The duly completed F.10 forms must be sent along with the used air ticket stubs, boarding passes, hotel bills and the completed payment instruction forms which will be provided, on request, at the Seminar. 18. To facilitate the payment of subsistence allowance and confirmation on return flights, eligible participants are requested to submit the attached arrival/departure forms together with their air tickets, passports and inbound boarding passes to the UNESCAP secretariat staff on duty in the conference room before the opening of the Seminar. 19. WTO/UNESCAP-sponsored participants are expected to stay for the full duration of the Seminar. However, if for any sudden reason, they are unable to stay for the full duration of the Seminar, they are requested to inform the secretariat as soon as possible so that their daily subsistence allowance can be adjusted accordingly. Weather 20. Xian is forecasted to have an average temperature of approximately 8-20 degrees Celsius. For more information about weather in Xian, please refer to

5 5 VISA AUTHORIZATION REQUEST FORM WTO/ESCAP/ARTNeT Regional Seminar on Agriculture Negotiations for Asia-Pacific Economies, Xian, China, March 2006 [For visa authorization, if required, participants are requested to complete and send this form to the, Ministry of Commerce, China with copy to UNESCAP for follow up.] Mr [ ] Ms [ ] Name: Functional title and full street address: First Middle Last Tel: Fax: Arrival date at Xian: Flight: at: hours Departure date from Xian: Flight: at: hours Passport particulars: Nationality: Date and place of birth: Passport number: Date and place of issue: Expiry date: Place for visa collection: Signature: Please fax or this completed form at the earliest or before 1 March 2006 to the following addresses: To: Ms. Ying LIU Section Chief, Enquiry and Technical Support Division Ministry of Commerce Beijing, China Tel: (86-10)) <liuying@mofcom.gov.cn>, <talktoying@sohu.com>, <zhangwei_wto@mofcom.gov.cn> cc: Ms. Waree Poontavilap Programme Assistant, Trade Policy Section UNESCAP Bangkok, Thailand Tel: (66-2) <poontavilap.unescap@un.org>

6 6 HOTEL RESERVATION REQUEST FORM WTO/ESCAP/ARTNeT Regional Seminar on Agriculture Negotiations for Asia-Pacific Economies, Xian, China, March 2006 [Participants are kindly requested to send this form directly to the hotel with copy to the Department for WTO Affairs, Ministry of Commerce, China and the ESCAP secretariat, for follow up.] Mr. [ ] Ms. [ ] Name: Functional title and full street address: First Middle Last Tel: Fax: Arrival date at Xian: Flight: at: hours Departure date from Xian: Flight: at: hours Room requirement at Hyatt Regency Xian and period of stay: Standard single/double: [ ] for room only Check-in date: Check-out date: Standard single/double: [ ] for room with breakfast Check-in date: Check-out date: Request for complimentary airport transfer to be provided by the Ministry of Commerce, China: For airport/hyatt Regency Xian Yes. No. For Hyatt Regency Xian/airport Yes. No. Signature: After completing this form, please fax or it at the earliest and before 1 March 2006 to the indicated number/ addresses below. Upon receipt of the form, the hotel will advise the participants of confirmation on room reservation. To: Hyatt Regency Xian (Attn: Ms. Lisa LI, Assistant Sales Manager) cc: cc: Note: Ms. Ying LIU Enquiry and Technical Support Division Ministry of Commerce, China Ms. Waree Poontavilap UNESCAP Secretariat Bangkok, Thailand Tel: (86-29) , Fax: (86-29) <reservation@hyattxian.com.cn> Tel: (86-10) <liuying@mofcom.gov.cn>, <talktoying@sohu.com>, <wangwei1953@hotmail.com> Tel: (66-2) <poontavilap.unescap@un.org> For flight information, upon receipt of UNESCAP confirmation on their participation WTO/ESCAPsponsored participants are kindly requested to contact local UNDP office to make their flight booking in advance.

7 7 ARRIVAL/DEPARTURE FORM 1. All participants are requested to fill in and return this form along with air tickets to the ESCAP staff present in the meeting room on the first day of the Seminar (morning), for seat reconfirmation. 2. In addition to item 1 above, WTO/ESCAP-sponsored participants are also requested to provide the secretariat with their passports and copies of inbound boarding passes, for payment of daily subsistence allowance. NAME: COUNTRY: AIR TICKET NUMBER: ARRIVAL AT XIAN: DATE: FLIGHT NUMBER: TIME: DEPARTURE FROM XIAN: DATE: FLIGHT NUMBER: TIME: HOTEL ADDRESS IN XIAN: ROOM NUMBER: SIGNATURE: DATE: