Date and place
The Special Ministerial Meeting to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Group of 77 will be held from 11 to 12 June 2004. The Special Ministerial Meeting will take place in Room 1 in the Anhembi Convention Centre, São Paulo, Brazil. The address of the Convention Centre is as follows:

Anhembi Convention Center
Av. Olavo Fontoura 1209
02012-021 São Paulo, SP, Brazil
Telephone: +5511 6971 5582/5455
Fax: +5511 6971 5442;

Schedule of meetings
The Special Ministerial Meeting will be called to order on Friday, 11 June 2004, at 10.00 a.m. sharp and will be chaired by His Excellency Sheik Mohammed Bin Ahmed Bin Jassim Al-Thani, Minister of Economy and Commerce of the State of Qatar. The draft tentative schedule of the Special Ministerial Meeting is as follows:

Morning (10:00 a.m. – 1.00 p.m.)

Opening ceremony (agenda Item 1)

Adoption of the agenda (agenda item 2)

Exchange of views on the performance of the Group of 77 and its future role with a view to enhancing its effectiveness and ensuring the implementation of its goals and objectives, in the light of new challenges and developments (agenda item 3)

Afternoon ( 3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.)

Continuation of the exchange of views (agenda item 3)

SATURDAY, 12 JUNE 2004

 Morning ( 10:00 a.m. – 1.00 p.m.)

Continuation of the exchange of views (agenda item 3)

Afternoon (3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.)

Adoption of the Ministerial Declaration (agenda item 4)

Closing ceremony (agenda item 5) **

** A separate programme of the closing ceremony will be posted shortly.

Accreditation and registration
Since the Special Ministerial Meeting is taking place on the occasion of UNCTAD XI and all logistical arrangements are made by UNCTAD and the host country, all participants will be accredited in accordance with the accreditation and registration process of UNCTAD XI. Accordingly, there will be no separate passes issued for the Special Ministerial Meeting. The passes issued for UNCTAD XI will be valid for the duration of the Special Ministerial Meeting as well as for UNCTAD XI. Delegations are kindly requested to visit the official website of UNCTAD XI at http://www.unctadxi.org/ for further information on accreditation and registration.

Please note that accreditation by UNCTAD to the Special Ministerial Meeting will be done according to the following schedule:

Before 28 May 2004 address all communications to:

UNCTAD XI: Accreditation and Registration
Office E-8103, Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Fax: (+41 22) 917 00 56
E-mail: register@unctad.org

After 28 May 2004 address all communications to:

Palácio de Convenções do Anhembi
Av. Olavo Fontoura 1209
02012-021 - São Paulo - SP - Brazil
E-mail: register@unctad.org

Inquiries on accreditation, regristration and related matters may be addressed to:

Dr. Awni Behnam
Senior Adviser to the Secretary-General of UNCTAD
Tel: +41 22 917 57 27
Fax: +41 22 907 00 43
E-mail: awni.behnam@unctad.org

List of speakers
No formal list of speakers will be opened in advance of the Special Ministerial Meeting. Once the Special Ministerial Meeting has opened and consideration of item 3 of the provisional agenda begins, delegations who ask for the floor in the conference room should provide the exact name and title of the speaker to the conference officer. In accordance with standard practice, precedence will be given to Ministers in the speaking order. The suggested time-limit for interventions should not exceed five minutes. Given time constraints, delegations who wish to have their statements circulated in the conference room are kindly requested to submit to the conference officer in advance 150 copies of the statement.

Simultaneous interpretation
Simultaneous interpretation will be available in the four official languages of the Group of 77 (Arabic, English, French and Spanish). Delegations who wish to deliver their statement in a language other than any of the above may do so by providing their own interpretation arrangements and inform the secretariat in advance.

Accommodation and travel arrangements
All participants will be responsible for their own travel expenses and arrangements. Information on hotel accommodations may be obtained through the official website of UNCTAD XI at http://www.unctadxi.org/.