ESCAP UNECE United Nations Economic and Social United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Pacific Commission for Europe UNITED NATIONS SPECIAL PROGRAMME FOR THE ECONOMIES OF CENTRAL ASIA (SPECA) NINTH SESSION OF THE SPECA GOVERNING COUNCIL 2014 SPECA ECONOMIC FORUM AND SIDE EVENTS (Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, 3-5 December 2014) INFORMATION NOTICE I. INTRODUCTION This Information notice provides logistical details regarding the ninth session of the SPECA Governing Council, the 2014 SPECA Economic Forum and their side events jointly organized by the Government of Afghanistan, the current chair country of SPECA, the Government of Turkmenistan, the host country of the 2014 SPECA Week in Ashgabat, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. II. VENUE These high-level events will take place between 3 and 5 December 2014 in the conference hall of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan (address: 108 Archabil Avenue, Ashgabat). III. PARTICIPATION Participants of the SPECA Economic Forum include government representatives of the United Nations member States, representatives of United Nations agencies and programmes, relevant international and regional organizations, international financial institutions, donors as well as representatives of the private sector and the academic community. Representatives of neighbouring countries, other countries interested in supporting the Programme, United Nations agencies and programmes, international and regional organizations, international financial institutions and donor agencies can attend the ninth session of the SPECA Governing Council as observers. 2 IV. CONFERENCE FEE No conference fee is charged for participation. Travel and accommodation expenses are borne by the participants. V. PRELIMINARY REGISTRATION Invited participants are requested to fill in the Registration form and return it by 10 November 2014 at the latest to: Ms. Elvira MYNBAYEVA and/or Ms. Tatiana APATENKO Fax: +7727 338 44 17 Fax: +4122 917 01 78 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] After preliminary registration, the participants will receive the visa application form and the questionnaire. VI. PASSPORTS AND VISAS Those invited participants who need visa support are requested to submit a colour copy of the passport and the completed visa application form and questionnaire to Mr. Hemra AMANNAZAROV , First Secretary of the Permanent Mission of Turkmenistan to the United Nations Office at Geneva (e-mail: [email protected] , fax: +41 22 749 10 01) not later then 15 November 2014. A copy of the passport should be readable and include the page indicating the expiry date. Participants will receive a digital letter of invitation for visa purposes by return e-mail or fax. To obtain a visa, the participants have to print and produce the visa support letter to passport control authorities at the Ashgabat international airport upon arrival. VII. REGISTRATION IN TURKMENISTAN Participants planning to stay in Turkmenistan for more than three days (five days, if traveling on a UN passport) are required to register in the country. Ms. Elvira MYNBAYEVA (e-mail: [email protected]) and Ms. Tatiana APATENKO (e-mail: [email protected]) will provide assistance in this regard. In order to be registered in Turkmenistan, participants will receive a country registration form to be completed in two copies. While registering at the side events on 3 December 2014 or the 2014 SPECA Economic Forum on 4 December 2014, the participants should submit to the Organizers: 2 copies of the country registration form, 2 colour passport size photos, 2 colour photocopies of their passport and the original passport. Passports will be returned as soon as the procedure of registration in Turkmenistan is completed. 3 VIII. ACCOMMODATION A suitable number of rooms (US$ 90 per night) are pre-booked at the Grand Turkmen Hotel**** (address: Gorogly Street 50, tеlephone: +993 12 92 05 55). Payments: Visa credit cards or US dollars. Invited participants can request assistance to hotel booking in the registration form. Each participant is expected to cover the cost of his or her own board and accommodation. IX. TRANSPORTATION Airport pick-up and shuttle service between the hotel and the meetings’ venue will be arranged by the Organizers. X. DOCUMENTATION Documents for the 2014 SPECA Economic Forum and the ninth session of the SPECA Governing Council can be downloaded as they become available from northcentral- sro/unescap.org and www.unece.org/speca . Papers and other documents to be presented at the 2014 SPECA Economic Forum should be submitted in the English and/or Russian languages to Mr. Nikolay POMOSHCHNIKOV (e-mail: [email protected]) and Mr. Marton KRASZNAI (e-mail: [email protected]) by 20 November 2014 in electronic format (Word for Windows). The papers submitted by this date will be posted on the SPECA webpages and will be available for download. A limited number of copies of documents will be available in the meeting room during the SPECA events. XI. INTERPRETATION AND VISUAL AIDS Simultaneous interpretation in English and Russian as well as facilities for computer-aided presentations (e.g. PowerPoint) will be provided. XIII. FURTHER INFORMATION Focal points Programme: Mr. Nikolay POMOSHCHNIKOV , Head of the ESCAP Subregional Office for North and Central Asia and the Joint ESCAP/UNECE SPECA Office in Almaty (e-mail: [email protected], telephone: +7727 338 44 01, fax: +7727 338 44 17) Mr. Marton KRASZNAI , SPECA Deputy Coordinator at UNECE (e-mail: [email protected], telephone: +4122 917 27 60, fax: +4122 917 01 78) 4 Logistics: Ms. Elvira MYNBAYEVA, Programme Officer, ESCAP Subregional Office for North and Central Asia and the Joint ESCAP/UNECE SPECA Office in Almaty (e-mail: [email protected], telephone: +7727 338 44 03, fax: +7727 338 44 17) Ms. Tatiana APATENKO , UNECE Secretary to the SPECA Governing Council (e-mail: [email protected], telephone: +4122 917 36 66 , fax: 4122 917 01 78) Currency and Exchange Offices Turkmenistan’s official currency is Turkmenistani manat (TMT). The current exchange rate is 1 USD = 2.84 TMT. It is a fixed exchange rate that is applied by all exchange offices. Payments can be made only in manats and exchange offices are common in Ashgabat. There is an exchange office at the airport, accepting US dollars, euros and British pounds. There are no ATMs on international circuits and credit cards are accepted in major hotels only. Weather Turkmenistan has a sharply continental climate. In December, the average temperature in Ashgabat ranges between 1 and 10 °C. .