WORLD TRADE WT/MIN(98)/INF/7
WT/FIFTY/INF/5
ORGANIZATION 24April 1998
(98-1684)
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Second Session
Geneva, 18and20May1998
50THANNIVERSARY
19May1998
WTO MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE AND COMMEMORATION OF
THE 50THANNIVERSARY
Summary oftheInformation Meeting heldon16April 1998
1. Asecond information meeting washeldon16April 1998 under theChairmanship of
Mr.J.E.Chabert, Chairman oftheWTO Task Force forthe1998 Ministerial Conference.
Representatives from theSwiss authorities were alsopresent, namely: Mr.M.Kummer (Swiss
Mission totheWTO), Mr.D.Louis (Protocol, Canton ofGeneva) andCommissaire Vaudroz
(Geneva Police Department).
2. Atameeting oftheGeneral Council (2and14April 1998), itwasagreed thattheSecond
Session oftheMinisterial Conference would take place on18and20May 1998 andthe
commemoration ofthe50thAnniversary on19May. Thiswasduetothefactthatcertain Heads of
State orGovernment were abletoattend onlyon19May1998.
3. Thefollowing subjects were mentioned atthismeeting:
Schedule ofmeetings fortheMinisterial Conference
18May1998 a.m. Opening session tobeheldintheAssembly HallofthePalais desNations.
Inaddition todelegations thissession willbeopen tothePress, NGO
representatives andacertain number ofinvitees andguests.
18May1998 p.m. Working sessions willbeheld inthenew Council Room atCentre
William Rappard (CWR). These sessions arelimited todelegations only.
20May1998 a.m. Working session tobeheldinthenewCouncil Room atCWR.
20May1998 p.m. Closing session tobeheldintheAssembly HallofthePalais desNations.
ThePress, NGOs andinvitees mayalsoattend.
Commemoration ofthe50thAnniversary (Assembly HallofthePalais)
19May1998 Depending onthenumber ofHeads ofState orGovernment attending, the
commemoration maytakeplace morning andafternoon orafternoon only.
Details willbegiven todelegations assoonasthearrangements havebeen
finalized.
Ifthecommemoration ofthe50thAnniversary isheldintheafternoon only,
aworking session oftheMinisterial Conference maybeheldattheCWR in
themorning of19May.WT/MIN(98)/INF/7
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Asfortheopening andclosing sessions, thecommemoration maybeattended bythePress,
representatives from theNGOs andinvitees.
Thisabove schedule issubject tomodification.
Video link
4. Itshould benoted that,fortheopening andclosing sessions andforthe50thAnniversary
commemoration there willbevideo links from theAssembly HalltoRoom XII(NGOs), Room H3
(Press Centre), thenewCouncil Room atCWR, Room Wand,ifnecessary, toRoom D.Forthe
working sessions which areheldatCWR there willbeavideo link,ifnecessary, toRoom Wand
Room D.
Participation ofleast-developed countries
5. Withregard totheparticipation ofdelegates fromleast-developed countries totheMinisterial
Conference, theSecretariat hascontacted several potential donors andhopes tohave replies very
shortly.
Registration forms
6. Delegations arerequested toreturn theregistration forms totheWTO Secretariat assoonas
possible tofacilitate thepreparation ofthebadges.
Social events
7. Inthelightofthechange intheprogramme, thefollowing events arescheduled:
18May1998 Lunch forMinisters orHeads ofDelegations (+1) attheIntercontinental
Hotel at1p.m. Thiswillbehosted bytheChairman oftheMinisterial
Conference.
19May1998 Lunch forHeads ofStateorGovernment hosted bythePresident oftheSwiss
Confederation. Thevenue hasnotyetbeendecided.
19May1998 Areception hosted bytheSwiss authorities forallparticipants willbeheld
attheMusée del’Automobile from 7p.m.
Identity badges
8. Allparticipants willreceive abadge which willbeprepared oncetheRegistration Form has
beenprocessed. They willbevalid fortheduration oftheConference only. Thebadges willallow
access toallmeetings atthePalais desNations andtheCWR, andtoallsocial functions. Thecolours
aspresently usedwillbemaintained (e.g.redforHeads ofDelegations, bluefordelegations, white
fortheSecretariat, etc.).WT/MIN(98)/INF/7
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Security andtraffic restrictions
9. Atthemeeting, Geneva police authorities informed delegations thatsecurity arrangements will
bestrict. Access totraffic around theareas where theConference isbeing heldwillberestricted.
Traffic willbediverted andsome border points ofneighbouring France willbeclosed. Details and
itineraries willbeprovided assoonaspossible.
Parking atPalais desNations andCWR
10. Several carparks willbemade available forparticipants. AtthePalais theywillbeinthe
vicinity oftheAssembly Hall. Inaddition tothecarparkatCWR, additional parking arrangements
willbemade. Thepolice authorities willprovide details induecourse anddelegates willbeinformed
accordingly.
11. Parking stickers willbeattributed toeachdelegation according tothenumber ofparticipants
from theirdelegations.
Shuttle service
12. Ashuttle service willbeinoperation between themainhotels, Palais desNations andCWR.
Inorder toarrange thisservice, delegates arerequested toinform theSecretariat assoon as
possible ofthename ofthehotels where their delegations arestaying. (Aform isattached for
thispurpose.)
13. Forthereception onTuesday, 19May 1998, attheMusée del’automobile, theSwiss
authorities willarrange anavette service. Delegations should therefore alsoindicate ontheformhow
many persons would usethisservice orwhether theywould usetheirownmeans oftransport.
Visas
14. TheSwiss authorities informed delegations thattheycould notwaive visarequirements for
delegates totheMinisterial Conference. They advised delegates totakethenecessary steps withthe
Swiss Embassy orConsulate responsible forissuing visas totheircapital without delay.
15. Alistofcountries thatrequire visas forFrance andSchengen countries isattached asan
Annex tothisdocument.
VAT exemption andcustoms duties
16. TheSwiss authorities informed delegates thataccredited delegates would, inprinciple, benefit
fromdiplomatic privileges andimmunities. They will,forinstance, begranted access totheduty-free
shoponcompletion ofthenecessary form.
17. Laptop computers canbebrought through customs without anyspecial formalities astheyare
considered aspersonal belongings. However, anyother equipment which issentinadvance by
airfreight willbesubject totheusual procedures.
Airport arrivals anddepartures
18. Arrangements canbemade tomeet Ministers onarrival. Delegations should contact
Mr.Daniel Teysseire attheairport (telephone 7177103orfax7177117).WT/MIN(98)/INF/7
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19. Forprotocol arrangements, delegates areinvited tocontact theGeneva Protocol Office
(telephone 3192203orfax3112155),which willtransmit requests totherelevant authorities.
20. TheSwiss authorities informed delegates thatarrangements would bemade tomeetHeads of
State orGovernment orHeads ofDelegation onarrival, butdelegations should contact thepersons
mentioned above asappropriate.
21. Oneortwomembers oftheWTO Secretariat willbepresent attheairport onSunday, 17May
1998 tohelpwithanyquestions.
Number ofseatsperdelegation
22. Several delegates asked whether theycould beinformed inadvance about thenumber ofseats
tobeattributed toeach delegation. Atthetime oftheinformation meeting nolisthadbeen
established. Only afewRegistration Forms hadbeenreceived sofaranduntiltheSecretariat had
more information about theattendance ofdelegations itwasdifficult toallocate thenumber ofseats
perdelegation. However, theSecretariat willtakemeasures toensure thatdelegations have the
information assoonaspossible, evenifonlyaprovisional listcanbeprovided atthisstage.
23. Atthistime, itcanbeconfirmed thataminimum number ofthree seatswillbeavailable for
delegations ontheground floor oftheAssembly HallinthePalais desNations. Additional seatsare
available intheGallery oftheAssembly Hall. Themeetings canalsobeseenintheCWR viavideo
links.
24. Delegates from Member countries aswellasObservers would beallocated acertain number
ofseatsontheground flooroftheAssembly HallatthePalais desNations. Additional seatswillbe
available inthegallery, andthere willalsobethepossibility offollowing theConference attheCWR
viathevideo links.
Ministerial statements
25. Statements forthePlenary Opening andClosing sessions should besubmitted tothe
Secretariat asfaraspossible inadvance. They willbetranslated andcirculated inthethree official
languages notlaterthanthedayaftertheyaresubmitted.
26. Thetexts should besubmitted inelectronic form, together withahardcopy. TheWTO
Secretariat usesMSOffice 97(Word) andWordPerfect text-processing programs, butother word
processors areacceptable.
Theagenda andformat forthe50thAnniversary commemoration on19Mayhasnotyetbeen
established. Arrangements willbecommunicated assoonaspossible.
Office space atthePalais desNations
28. Office space inthePalais desNations willbeattributed onlytodelegations which donothave
missions inGeneva.
Telecommunications
29. Steps arebeing taken toincrease thetelecommunication capacity tofacilitate theuseofmobile
phones.WT/MIN(98)/INF/7
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Liaison officers
30. Anumber ofLiaison Officers willberecruited fortheduration oftheConference toassist
delegations. ALiaison Officer willbeassigned toeachdelegation nothaving amission inGeneva.
Fordelegations withrepresentatives inGeneva oneLiaison Officer willassist fiveorsixdelegations.
Each Officer willhaveamobile phone tohelpcoordinate withtheother delegations, etc.
31. Atthesuggestion ofadelegation, alistwillbeprepared andcirculated prior tothe
Conference giving thenames ofhotels andcontact persons.
32. Athirdinformation meeting willbeconvened during theweek beginning 4May1998.WT/MIN(98)/INF/7
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ANNEX
WTO MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE AND COMMEMORATION
OFTHE FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY
VISAS
ListofCountries Requiring aVisaforFrance Transmitted by
theConsulate General ofFrance inGeneva
Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
Angola
Antigua andBarbuda
Armenia
Australia
Azerbaijan
Bahamas
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belarus
Belize
Benin
Bhutan
Bolivia
Bosnia andHerzegovina
Botswana
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cambodia
Cameroon
CapVerde
Central African Republic
Chad
China
Colombia
Comores
Congo
Costa Rica
Côted'Ivoire
Cuba
Democratic People 's
Republic ofKorea
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican RepublicEcuador
Egypt
ElSalvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Estonia
Ethiopia
Fiji
FormerYugoslav Republic
ofMacedonia
Gabon
Gambia
Georgia
Ghana
Grenada
Guatemala
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Hong Kong, China
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Jamaica
Jordan
Kazakstan
Kenya
Kiribati
Kyrgyzstan
Kuwait
LaoPeople 'sDemocratic
Republic
Latvia
Lebanon
Lesotho
LiberiaLithuania
Lybian Arab Jamahiriya
Madagascar
Malawi
Maldives
Mali
Marshall Islands
Mauritania
Mauritius
Micronesia
Moldova
Mongolia
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar
Namibia
Nauru
Nepal
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria
Northern Marianna Islands
Oman
Pakistan
Palau
Palestine
Papua NewGuinea
Peru
Philippines
Qatar
Romania
Russian Federation
Rwanda
SaoTome andPrincipe
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Solomon IslandsWT/MIN(98)/INF/7
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Somalia
South Africa
SriLanka
St.KittsandNevis
St.Lucia
St.Vincent andthe
Grenadines
Sudan
Surinam
Swaziland
Syria
Taiwan
Former Yugoslavia
Former Zaire (Democratic
Republic oftheCongo)
Zambia
ZimbabweTajikistan
Tanzania
Thailand
Togo
Tongo
Trinidad andTobago
Trust Territory of
Pacific Islands
Tunisia
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Tuvalu IslandsUganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Venezuela
Vietnam
Western Samoa
YemenWT/MIN(98)/INF/7
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Please return byfaxassoonaspossible to:
FaxNo.0041 227395773-Mr.J.E.Chabert, WTO
WTO MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE AND COMMEMORATION
OFTHE 50TH ANNIVERSARY
18,19and20MAY 1998
DELEGATION:
NAME OFHOTEL:
TelNo.
FaxNo.
Contact person atyourMission:
TelNo.
FaxNo.
Doyourequire transport tothereception attheMusée del'automobile on
19May1998?
Yes
 No
How many members ofyourdelegation willrequire transport? ......
__________