For further information contact: Alfredo Alves

Agenda

The workshop begins on March 8, 2004 at 8:00 am. Participants should arrive in Cali between 6 and/or 7 March in the afternoon or evening with departure scheduled on 13 or 14 March.

Accommodation

All participants will be accommodated at CIAT's hotel facilities, with meals, and lodging. We will not cover liquor consumption, which must be paid by the participant directly to the CIAT hotel before departure. Cost of personal overseas calls must also be covered by each participant before departure.

CIAT's hotel accepts Colombian pesos, USD cash, approved USD personal checks and USD traveler's checks (credit cards are NOT accepted at the hotel).

The CBN-VI Meeting will make necessary reservations at the hotel for all participants, based on your arrival and departure dates.

Visas

Please check in the list below whether your country is exempt or not from Colombian visa requirements. Immigration is done at the port of entry. Entry to Colombia from other parts of the world is usually through Bogota, its capital city, not through Cali where we are located. If coming through Bogota you will then connect on a domestic flight to Cali.

Participants (nationals) of the following countries do not require visa on the condition that their visit to Colombia is for less than 30 days and for tourist purposes. The countries are:

Germany, Andorra, Antigua & Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Korea, Costa Rica, Chile, Cyprus, Denmark, Dominica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Spain, U.S.A., Philippines, Finland, France, Granada, Greek, Guatemala, Ghana, Honduras, Indonesia, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Norway, New Zeland, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, U.K., Slovakia Rep., Saint Kitts & Nevis, St. Marino, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & The Grenadines, Singapore, Sweden, Trinidad & Tobago, Turkey, Uruguay, Venezuela, Netherlands.

If your country does not is on the above list, you require a Colombian visa.

Please note that under no circumstances can a visa be issued on arrival in Colombia to nationals of the above countries. CIAT's Conference Officer, Patricia Fajardo and or Eleonora Izquierdo, will be handling all travel requirements, including flight reservations and procurement of visa for entry into Colombia.

However, each participant must procure his own visa for those countries that require it for stopovers or flight connections. Conference Office will be in touch with each participant to coordinate the city and country where your Colombian visa will be placed in order for you to pick it up during travel.

CIAT adheres strictly to immigration rules and regulations established by the host Government. In order for CIAT's Protocol Office to assist nationals from the countries listed above in obtaining their visas, we require that you avail to us the following information as soon as possible. We need to have a minimum of 20 working days to issue the service visa.

• Full name as it appears in your passport
  
• Nationality
  
• Country of origin (which may be different from your nationality)
  
• Name of institution with which you are working
  
• Address
  
• Passport number
  
• Phone number, email, and/or Fax
  
  

All participants will receive an official letter of invitation for use with immigration officials during travel.

Local Transportation

CIAT will provide local transportation during the workshop period. Airport transfers also will be provided upon arrival and departure.

Overseas Communication

Telexes, electronic mail and fax messages may be sent and overseas calls placed (the latter at personal cost) at CIAT.

Banking Services

The BANCO DE CREDITO has an office at CIAT headquarters and provides banking services from Monday through Friday during office hours (08:300 to 13:00) to exchange money. In addition, there is a 24-hour service electronic cashier that accepts most personal or corporate credit cards that belong to CIRRUS or PLUS (Master Card and VISA).

If your personal checking account is from a US bank (in USD), you can cash a check drawn against your account for cash in Colombian pesos for up to USD2,500.00, prior approval of the CIAT Treasurer, Maria del Pilar Correa. To do this you must present one copy of your passport's main page with your photo, one copy of the page with the entry stamp or visa to Colombia and fill out a special form in compliance with Colombian regulations. Upon approval, you can go to the bank to exchange your check or to the hotel to make your payment.

Approval of CIAT's treasurer is not required for changing (or paying CIAT hotel bills with) USD cash and USD traveler's checks.

Very few stores in town accept USD and you may want to have some Colombian currency for personal purchases. The current exchange rate is approximately US$1 = Col$2,600.

Ticket Reconfirmation

Bring your ticket to the seminar on Monday. CIAT's Conference organizers will pick them up and give them to the Travel Office for reconfirmation.

Health

Cali is not a malaria risk zone; nonetheless, in the evening, mosquitoes are a nuisance at CIAT. The best prevention of cause is to avoid being bitten. The hotel rooms have screens on doors and windows. Please take care to keep them shut. It is also recommended to wear long sleeves and trousers in the evening.
According to CIAT's policy you must have a health and life insurance during the period of the meeting. CIAT will not assume any responsibility related with health, accidents and life.

Security

CIAT's headquarters are located at an hour's drive from downtown Cali (to the south) and at a 15-minute drive from the smaller city of Palmira (to the north). CIAT's headquarters have excellent security measures and you should have no problems while at CIAT.


Some General Information About Colombia

Full country name: Republic of Colombia
Area: 1,141,748 sq km (440,830 sq mi)
Population: 39,685,000
Capital city: Bogotá (pop: 5 million)
People: 58% Mestizo (of European-Indian descent), 20% European descent, 14% mulatto (African-European descent), 4% African descent, 3% African-Indian descent, 1% indigenous
Language: Castilian Spanish, plus over 200 indigenous languages
Religion: Catholic 95%, with the remainder a mixture of traditional, Episcopal and Jewish faiths
Government: Democracy
President: Alvaro Uribe
GDP: US$254 billion
GDP per capita: US$6,200
Inflation: 16.7%
Major industries: Textiles, coffee, oil, sugar cane, food processing
Major trading partner: US, EU

The weather in Cali Colombia is typical of lowland tropical areas. For detailed weather forecast in Cali: http://www.cnn.com/WEATHER/sa/Colombia/CaliSKCL.html

For detailed weather forecast in Bogota: http://www.cnn.com/WEATHER/sa/Colombia/BogotaSKBO.html