ATHENS REGIONAL ENERGY OFFICERS CONFERENCE OCTOBER 14-15 -

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ATHENS 001372 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ENRG OTRA GR SUBJECT: ATHENS REGIONAL ENERGY OFFICERS CONFERENCE OCTOBER 14-15 - ADMINISTRATIVE AND LOGISTICS INFORMATION ¶1. (U) This message provides administrative and logistical information for the Regional Energy Officers Conference to be held at U.S. Embassy Athens on October 14-15, 2008. Attendees will receive a notional schedule via email in coming days. ¶2. (SBU) A block of rooms has been reserved at the Embassy per diem rate of 140 euros at the Athens Hilton Hotel, 46 Vasilissis Sophias Avenue, Athens, +30-210-728-1000. Breakfast is included in the price of the hotel room. When we receive your country clearance request with your travel information, we will finalize your reservation and send you a reservation number. Travelers are expected to pay the Hilton directly for their accommodations. Please e-mail your arrival and departure dates no later than October 3, 2008 to Betsy Zouroudis at ZouroudisB@state.gov with a courtesy copy to Kiriaki Lamnatou at LamnatouKA@state.gov. ¶3. (U) Conference fee: In order to defray the cost of the conference, including lunches, transportation to and from the Embassy, administrative and other conference expenses, participants will be charged a conference fee of 51 USD (35 euros). The fee will be collected in advance from your travel order fiscal data. Please make sure your country clearance request includes a Miscellaneous Obligation-type (MO) fund cite for the conference fee of 51 USD (35 euros). As part of this fee will cover meals, M&IE for Athens will be correspondingly reduced. ¶4. (U) Country Clearance Requests: Attendees should send their country clearance requests as soon as possible. Country clearance requests should include flight information and a fund cite for the conference fee. Once your request for country clearance is approved, we will send you your hotel reservation number and additional information about the conference. ¶5. (U) Arrivals: Attendees could take a taxi to the hotel. Taxis are readily available from the airport. The taxi ride to the Hilton from Athens International airport should cost no more than 25 to 35 Euros (may vary with traffic). The price includes 0.35 euros per luggage, 3 euros for airport fees and 3.50 euros for tolls. If you arrive between 12:00 midnight and 5:00 a.m., the taxi charges are double (50 to 70 Euros). Another option is to take express bus line number X95 "Airport-Syntagma", which departs from the airport every 15 to 20 minutes and stops at "Ilisia" bus station which is close to the hotel. The ticket costs 3.20 euros and you can purchase it on board from the bus driver. ¶6. (U) Visas: If you decide to travel on your official or diplomatic passport you do/do require a visa regardless of length of stay. Tourist/tourist passports do not require a visa for visits of less than 90 days. If you do not already have a Greek visa, it is advisable to enter/exit Greece for the purposes of this event on your tourist passport. ¶7. (U) All attendees should bring their official USG-issued ID for access to the Embassy. ¶8. (SBU) Agenda: The schedule for this two-day event is full. In order to get acquainted with other conference attendees, on the evening of October 13 there will be a no-host dinner at 8:00 p.m. at "Agora" restaurant that is located behind the Athens Hilton Hotel, 8 Hatziyanni Mexi Street, Tel: 210-725-2252. The conference begins on October 14. The Embassy will provide a shuttle bus to and from the hotel to the Embassy. After the first day of discussions, there will be a no-host dinner at 8:00 p.m. overseeing the Acropolis. ¶9. (U) Sightseeing. For those wishing to do some sightseeing in Athens, information about popular tourist sites will be included in your welcome package. ¶10. (U) Please direct all questions related to the conference to Betsy Zouroudis at ZouroudisB@state.gov and to Kiriaki Lamnatou at LamnatouKA@state.gov. We look forward to welcoming you to Athens, Greece. SPECKHARD