LOGISTICS FOR FEBRUARY 22-23 RSI MEETINGS IN ATHENS

UNCLAS ATHENS 000081 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PTER OTRA GR SUBJECT: LOGISTICS FOR FEBRUARY 22-23 RSI MEETINGS IN ATHENS ¶1. (U) Embassy Athens, in conjunction with the State Department's Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism (S/CT),is pleased to host the February 22 Iraq and Neighbors and the February 23 Eastern Mediterranean Regional Strategic Initiative (RSI) meetings. Our goal is to make the RSI, and your stay with us, a success. This cable contains logistical information for participants, including lodging and transportation arrangements and conference costs. ¶2. (U) COUNTRY CLEARANCE: All participants other than DOD must send e-country clearance requests with detailed arrival/departure information to Embassy Athens directly, or via S/CT for Embassy Athens for interagency participants. We ask that you send eCC requests as soon as possible to facilitate our providing services to participants. Please respond "Yes" to the eCC question about requesting Embassy access. DOD members should submit their eCC requests via APACS. ¶3. (U) LODGING: The Embassy has secured hotel rooms at the Divani Caravel hotel in Athens (tel: 30-210-720-7000) at a special room rate of 120 euros per night. Travelers are expected to pay the hotel using their government issued or personal credit card. The Divani Caravel is located at 2, Vas. Alexandrou Avenue, a 15-minute walk from the Embassy. Embassy and S/CT staff will be present at a hospitality desk near the reception to greet RSI participants during peak arrival times on February 21 and 22. The hotel provides currency exchange services, and also has an ATM. The same hotel will be used for the February 24-25 EUR Counterterrorism Officers workshop, and those visitors who are attending the EUR as well as RSI events will be able to stay in the same rooms, although they will only need to pay for the portion of their stay prior to the evening of February 23. EUR will pay the hotel directly for rooms for its event, starting February 23. Please e-mail your arrival and departure dates no later than February 10 to Alan Purcell. ¶4. (U) LODGING - CONTINUED: Each participant must make his/her own individual reservations by sending the following information by email to hotel Sales Manager Eleni Spanacou at Spanacou@Divanicaravel.gr with copies to VogiatzoglouVK@state.gov and AcsL@state.gov : Note: RSI Title (Mr., Mrs., Ms.) First and Last name Email address Date/Time of Arrivals and Departures along with Flight details Credit Card number with Expiration date Specify if card is: AMEX, VISA, MASTERCARD, or EUROCARD Accompanying person (if applicable) Choice of accommodation: Single or Double (Note: Double occupancy is 140 euros. Government-provided funding is based on single occupancy, and the additional cost would be the traveler's personal responsibility.) The hotel will confirm the reservation. ¶5. (U) CONFERENCE FEE: In order to defray the cost of the conference, lunches, transportation to and from the Embassy, administrative and other conference expenses, participants will be charged a conference fee. We ask that all participants include 75 USD in their travel orders per RSI they will attend. An Embassy cashier will be available to collect the conference fee on the mornings of the RSI meetings. ¶6. (U) COMMUNICATIONS DURING RSI: The Embassy does not maintain a permanent area designated as an "SBU ON+ common access" area. We are working to set up a small temporary area near the conference room at which Ambassadors and other senior-level participants would have access to a phone, a limited number of SBU terminals, and an SBU printer. If available, we recommend you bring FOBs and Blackberry. Classified access is likely to be very limited. We recommend that urgent classified communications be sent via classified e-mail to Lesley Acs (AcsL@state.sgov.gov) for printing and hand delivery to the intended recipient. For those participants who would like to use terminals in the Embassy, we ask that a systems point of contact in your Mission contact Alan Purcell by February 16 to ensure that account configurations are compatible. ¶7. (U) VISAS: IMPORTANT: Greece requires visas in official or diplomatic passport regardless of length of stay, and this requirement is strictly enforced. Tourist/tourist passports do not require a visa for visits of less than 90 days. We encourage participants to carry both passports when possible as a precaution. ¶8. (U) TRANSPORTATION TO/FROM AIRPORT FOR ALL PARTICIPANTS EXCEPT DOD: Taxis are readily available from the airport, and the majority of drivers are English-speaking. The taxi ride to the Divani Caravel from Athens International Airport should cost no more than 25 to 45 euros (may vary with traffic). The price includes 0.35 euros per item of 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). Taxis can be ordered at your hotel for departure. Ambassadors/Charges d' Affaires and A/S level participants will be met at the airport and their POCs should contact Alan Purcell by February 12 to make arrangements. ¶9. (U) TRANSPORTATION TO/FROM AIRPORT AND HOTEL FOR DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE: DAO will provide transport to/from airport and hotel for all military personnel. Please send an e-mail confirming arrival information to CW2 Arriola at ArriolaJA@state.gov or SFC Grant at GrantHC@state.gov. ¶10. (U) GROUND TRANSPORTATION IN ATHENS: The Embassy will provide transportation to/from the hotel and the Embassy twice a day (morning and evening) on February 22 and 23. We will also provide bus transportation when necessary to no-host dinners and other events in the evenings. Bus schedules will be included in your registration material, and embassy staff will be in the lobby of the hotel with an "RSI" sign to assist you to the bus during departure. ¶11. (U) SECURITY: All participants will receive security related material in their welcome packets and are encouraged to review it. Furthermore, the Regional Security Office is located a few steps down the hall from the conference and participants are welcome to stop in if they have any questions or concerns. Department of State employees should bring their Global ID and/or Smart Card that will permit full access to the compound. Employees of other agencies and departments should bring their respective USG identification. ¶12. (U) FUNDING: S/CT will provide funding for the travel expenses of participants from posts, to include the chief of mission or his/her designate, plus one additional representative. Travel orders should include the USD 75 conference fee per participant (USD 150 if the traveler is attending both RSIs) which will cover incidental conference costs as at past RSI meetings. Posts should send an unclassified e-mail with itinerary, as well as costs estimates including roundtrip airfare, lodging, and meals and incidentals as stipulated by current USG per diem rates, and identify a point of contact to whom fiscal data should be sent to process travel orders to Patrice Pierce, piercepc@state.gov , (202-647-6554) and Leon Coates ( CoatesLD@state.gov),as well as Dan Mahanty (MahantyDR@state.gov) and Patrick Worman (WormanP@state.gov) as soon as possible, but no later than February 8. S/CT will generate fund cites and will send data to posts as soon as information is received. ¶13. (U) DRESS CODE: Please note that RSI meetings are business casual. ¶14. (U) POINTS OF CONTACT: -- Embassy Athens's control officer for the meetings is Eastern Med RSI Coordinator Alan Purcell (PurcellAS@state.gov/PurcellAS@state.sgov.gov; phone 30-210-720-2967/cell 30-695-620-0457). -- Points of contact for Iraq and Neighbors are S/CT Daniel Mahanty (email: MahantyDR@state.gov; phone 202-647-3738) and RSI Coordinator Carol Reynolds (ReynoldsCT@state.gov; phone IVG 295-7235). -- The Eastern Med points of contact are S/CT Patrick Worman (WormanP@state.gov; phone 202-647-9390) and Eastern Mediterranean Regional CT Officer Alan Purcell (see above). Please copy Athens officers Alan Purcell, Adair Hamilton, and Lesley Acs on all logistics-related email traffic. Speckhard