INDIAN OCEAN ISLANDS

COMOROS ISLAND.

SCURRENCY: Comoro Franc (CFR).

EXCHANGE RATE: CFR 429 = US$1.

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE: Arabic & French.

POPULATION: 630,000.

CAPITAL: Moroni.

INTERNATIONAL CODE: TELEPHONE: 269.

CURRENCY CONTROLS: The Comoro Franc is pegged to the French Franc on the basis of CFR 75 = FF 1.The local currency may be freely imported, but its export is limited to CFR 500,000.Foreign currency imports equivalent to CFR 500,00 should be declared on entry so that they may be exported on exit.

GAMING INFORMATION: There are two casinos in the Comoros.Both are on Grande Comore Island.The Comoros Islands (known as the Perfume Islands) are an archipelago of four volcanic islands clustered at the northern reaches of the Mozambique channel between Madagascar and East Africa.The culture is Islamic, but the population is an exotic mix of Arab, African, French, Malay-Polynesian and Malagasy origins.The islands offer a variety of leisure activities, scuba diving, and deep sea fishing.Grande Comore is the largest island of the four islands.

CLIMATE: Tropical climate tempered by cool breezes.Warm rains in January, and monsoons in November raise the temperatures to 28?c (82?F).

TOURIST INFORMATION: Societe Hdteliere et Touristique des Comores, BP 544 Moroni, Grande Comore, Isles des Comores.

Tel: 2268.

HOW TO GET THERE: By air - The international airport on Grande-Comore is served by Air-France, Reunion Air Service, Air Madagascar, Air Tanzania and the South African Airways (SAA).The islands are connected with regular Air Comores service.