Commonwealth Finance Ministers will meet in Bermuda later this month to endorse a comprehensive strategy to combat money-laundering.

And delegates at the Commonwealth Finance Ministers Meeting at the Southampton Princess Hotel will also attempt to strengthen current proposals regarding relief for heavily-indebted, poor countries.

Finance Minister Grant Gibbons will host some 250 people at the conference -- the second time the prestigious event has taken place here.

Commonwealth Secretary General Chief Emeka Anyaoku of Nigeria will deliver the main address along with Premier David Saul.

The UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer Kenneth Clarke chairs the meeting, which begins with opening ceremonies in the hotel's amphitheatre on Tuesday, September 24.

Bermuda's Finance Minister will chair most of the plenary sessions.

Sir David Gibbons played host to the conference in 1980 at the Hamilton Princess Hotel, when he was then Premier and Finance Minister.

Last year, the Ministers discussed money laundering as a special theme, culminating in a special report which later was endorsed by Commonwealth heads of government.

But Ministers want to review the progress of the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) recommendations and assess what additional measures might be needed.

Delegates will consider the recommendations from senior finance officials who met in June.

The recommendations include the importance of levelling up international standards to at least the minimum set by FATF on measures to combat money laundering.

Ministers are also expected to discuss regional issues and endorse the Commonwealth guidance notes for the financial sector as a basis for assisting countries in developing and implementing effective strategies for the financial sector to combat money laundering. The session is usually scheduled prior to the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, which, this year, are in Washington the following week.

The three-day affair is an opportunity for Ministers to exchange views on subjects likely to be on the agendas of the meetings of the IMF and the World Bank.

The agenda for the September 24-26 meeting includes planned discussions on the need for the IMF to be equipped with adequate resources. An increase in quotas is to be discussed toward enabling the fund to meet the liquidity needs and balance of payment requirements of its member countries.

Delegates from most of the 53 Commonwealth countries are expected to attend.

This year's special theme is "Private Capital Flows and Development: the Role of National and International Policies.'' The theme arose out of the widespread concern about the implications of Mexico-type crises for the global financial system and the risks associated with the volatility of private capital flows.

Ministers will discuss the adequacy of existing international arrangements for emergency financing and the feasibility of other innovative proposals advanced recently by the G10 on insolvency and orderly debt resolution.

Ministers have previously concluded that there is a multi-lateral debt problem, the solution for which requires a comprehensive approach.

Secretary General Emeka Anyaoku