Each year in late March or early April, the Boards of Governors of the Inter-American Development Bank and the Inter-American Investment Corporation meet in one of the Bank's member countries. This official gathering is a forum for discussions among the institutions' Governors, most of whom are finance ministers of one of the regional and nonregional member countries, central bank presidents, and advisors. Representatives from multilateral financial institutions, development agencies, and commercial and investment banks also attend.

In 2002, the Annual Meeting will take place in Fortaleza, Brazil, March 11th through the 13th.

Businesses and other private-sector organizations take part in the annual meeting by invitation only. A list of special guests from each member country -- including private-sector institutions, banks, associations, etc. -- is drawn up for approval in accordance with the internal procedures established for this purpose. The list for each country is updated to include requests received after the previous meeting up to the time the list is submitted to the Executive Director for approval (usually in August). Requests received after that date are submitted individually to the appropriate Executive Director.

The Forty-third Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Inter-American Development Bank and Seventeenth Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Inter-American Investment Corporation will be held in Fortaleza, Brazil, from 11 to 13 March 2002. As in the past, the Bank and the host country are organizing a series of seminars on topics of interest to participants. These preliminary activities will begin on Thursday, 7 March.

The Inaugural Session will take place at the SEBRAE Auditorium. All other sessions, meetings, and seminars will be held at the Ceará Convention Center.

Airport arrival procedures, customs and immigration

The Secretariat will send identifying baggage tags to all those who confirm that they plan to attend. Use of the baggage tags will help expedite customs formalities and make it possible for arriving travelers to be provided with any assistance they might require.

To enter Brazil, citizens of the following countries will need to present a valid passport with a visa issued by the Brazilian authorities:

Citizens of the following countries holding official or diplomatic passports will also be required to present a visa:

Nationals of other member countries do not need a visa for Brazil.

Weather

In March, Fortaleza normally has an average temperature of 26º C (79º F).

Electricity

The electric current in Brazil operates on 220 volts at 50 hertz.

Exchange rate

Brazil’s official currency unit is the real (R$), which on 31 October 2001 was quoted at R$2.70 per U.S. dollar.

Time zone

During the annual meeting, Fortaleza will be three hours behind Greenwich Mean Time (GMT-3).