COMMONWEALTH FINANCE MINISTERS MEETING

Malta will host the annual meeting of Commonwealth Finance Ministers from 19 to 21 September 2000. The venue will be the Radisson SAS Bay Point Resort, St. George's Bay, St Julian's.

The meeting will bring together Commonwealth Ministers and delegates from the 54 member countries as detailed in following Commonwealth News Release.

Local journalists wishing to attend the meeting are kindly asked to complete the Accreditation Form accompanying the News Release and return it to the Commonwealth Secretariat, London, by Monday 11 September.

Note on Media Accreditation

Malta will host the annual meeting of Commonwealth Finance Ministers from 19 to 21 September 2000, at

The Radisson SAS Bay Point Resort,

St George's Bay, St Julian's

Tel: 356 374894

Fax: 374895

Email: info@radisson.com.mt

Website: http://www.islandhotels.com/

The meeting will bring together Ministers and delegates from the 54 member countries of the Commonwealth.

The special theme of the meeting is New Challenges for the International Financial Institutions in Supporting Growth and Development. This will be a timely contribution to the vigorous ongoing debate on the roles of these institutions in supporting developing countries' capacity to respond to crises and maintain sustainable growth. The ministerial discussion will also take account of the need for adapting these institutions to the new requirements of the global financial system.

Additional topics expected to be discussed are the current world economic situation and prospects; specific IMF/World Bank issues; and the barriers to debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. The focus there will be on the fact that there has been little enhanced debt relief under HIPC and implementation has been disappointingly slow because of obstacles such as overload of conditionality and lack of additional funding.

Ministers will also discuss the problems of small states and implementation of the joint task force report of the Commonwealth and World Bank on actions for mitigating their vulnerability. Senior Finance Officials will report to Ministers on their discussion of the OECD review of offshore financial centres in relation to harmful tax competition issues, which will take place on 19 September. This is a key economic issue for many Commonwealth countries and the Officials' meeting will provide an important opportunity for the multilateralisation of these matters, as well as more broadly reaching consensus on the process whereby such decisions are made by organisations with selected membership.

The Commonwealth meeting is always held just before the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. Ministers and senior officials will have an opportunity to exchange views on subjects that are likely to be on the IMF-World Bank meeting agenda.

Journalists wishing to attend the meeting in Malta should complete the attached Accreditation Form and return it to the Information and Public Affairs Division, Commonwealth Secretariat, by Friday, 1 September 2000.

For information, please contact:

Information and Public Affairs Division The Director

Commonwealth Secretariat Department of Information

Marlborough House 3 Castille Place

Pall Mall Valletta

London SW1Y 5HX Malta

Tel: +44 (0)20 7747 6380 Tel: +356 225720

Fax: +44 (0)20 7839 9081 Fax: +356 237170

Media Facilities and Accreditation

Media representatives wishing to cover the Commonwealth Finance Ministers Meeting must be accredited in order to have access to the facilities. Passes will be issued by the Department of Information in Malta and distributed on-site from the Registration Desk between 0900 and 1200 hours on Tuesday, 19 September. The Registration Desk will be located at the entrance of the Radisson SAS Bay Point Resort.

Accreditation is open to all bonafide news organisations. Freelance media represented must be sponsored by a recognised news organisation and attach a letter of assignment to the accreditation form. The attached accreditation form should be completed and sent to the Commonwealth Secretariat by fax on or before Friday 1 September 2000.

Media representatives are required to book and pay for their own hotel accommodation. The official hotel guide is on the Malta Tourism Authority website: http://www.visitmalta.com. Hotels situated in St Julian's and Sliema are minutes away by car from the Radisson SAS Bay Point Resort.

Media arriving in Malta are reminded to hold a valid passport. Citizens of the following countries do not require a visa:

Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Cyprus, Dominica, Fiji Islands, The Gambia, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Nauru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Swaziland, Tanzania, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

B. Council of Europe Countries

(citizens of underlined States may travel to Malta with a valid Identity Card)

Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Federal Republic of Germany, Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, San Marina, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom.

C. Bilateral Agreements/Arrangements and Others

Andorra, Argentina, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Indonesia, Hungary, Israel, Japan, Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Latvia, Libya, Lithuania, Monaco, Morocco, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, Tunisia, United States of America, Uruguay, Vatican City.

Citizens of countries not listed in A, B and C need to apply for an Entry or a Transit Visa at Maltese Embassies or Consultants before proceeding to Malta.

Last Name: _______________________ First Name:_____________________________

News Organisation: __________________________________________________________

Address: ___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

Contact or Mailing Address (if different from above):

__________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

Telephone: _________________________ Mobile/cellular: _________________________

Fax: _______________________________ Email: ________________________________

Category: o Journalist o Photographer o Camera Operator o Technician

o Producer o Other (specify)_________________________________

For Non-residents of Malta:

Date of Birth: ________________________ Place of Birth: ____________________

Passport Number: ____________________ Country of Birth: __________________

Expected date of arrival in Malta: _______________________________________________

Signature: ……………………………………….