General information

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 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.

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 based on the previous year's list and is updated to include any requests received after the previous meeting up to the time the list is submitted to the respective Executive Director for approval (usually in August). Requests received after that date are submitted individually to the appropriate Executive Director.

Parties interested in receiving an invitation to the annual meeting should direct their request to the Secretary of the Bank, who will forward it to the respective Executive Director for approval. Requests should include a brief description of the institution and a copy of its most recent financial report. Once an institution has been added to the list, it will be sent an invitation and documentation (meeting agenda, provisional program of activities, preregistration form, and other pertinent materials), normally in December. Information on hotel accommodations will also be provided. The deadline for such requests to be received is JANUARY 15, 1999.

Place and date of the meeting

The Fortieth Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Inter-American Development Bank and Fourteenth Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Inter-American Investment Corporation will be held in Paris, France, from March 15 to 17, 1999. As in the past, the Bank and the host country are sponsoring a series of seminars in topics of interest to participants. These preliminary activities will begin on Thursday, March 11th.

All meetings and seminars will be held at the Paris Convention Center (Palais des Congrès).

Airport arrival procedures, customs and immigration

Since French customs and immigration formalities are swift and simple, no special airport arrival procedures are being established for the meeting.

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 France, participants who are citizens of the following IDB member countries will need to present a valid passport with a visa issued by the French authorities:

	The Bahamas			Haiti

	Barbados			Honduras

	Belize				Jamaica

	Bolivia				Nicaragua

	Colombia			Panama

	Dominican Republic		Peru

	Ecuador				Suriname

	El Salvador			Trinidad and Tobago

	Guatemala			Venezuela

	Guyana	

Currency

France's unit of currency is the French franc. As of October 1, 1998, the exchange rate was quoted at 5.47 francs to the United States dollar.

Weather

March is normally chilly and damp in Paris, with average high temperatures of around 4 to 11 degrees Celsius (39 to 52 degrees Fahrenheit). Rain is not heavy but frequent.

Time zone

In mid-March when the annual meeting will be held, Paris will be one hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT + 1).

Electricity

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