WASHINGTON - The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will hold their joint twice-a-year meetings over the weekend, with stability of the global economy, IMF reforms and energy investments among the top issues on the agenda.

The meetings on Apr. 22 and 23 will also see events organised by opponents to the brand of corporate globalisation spearheaded by the two institutions and by other global bodies like World Trade Organisation (WTO), the Davos-based World Economic Forum, and the Group of Seven (G7) industrial powers.

The spring gathering of finance officials and central bankers from around the world is normally smaller and considered less important than the institutions" full-blown annual meetings, which take place in the autumn.

On the official side, delegates meeting at the headquarters of the IMF and the World Bank in Washington are expected to discuss global imbalances, seen as a threat to economic growth, such as the U.S. fiscal deficit and trade surpluses in countries like China and oil-exporting nations.

The United States, the world"s largest economy, hopes to use the gathering to shed more light on what it says is the inflexibility of China"s currency regime and that of other Asian nations.

Reform of the 184-member IMF itself will also take centre stage, with many countries calling for fundamental changes in IMF governance to reflect rapid growth in many developing markets.

Among the proposals on the table is a plan to revamp the IMF"s quota formulas to make Gross Domestic Product a main indicator for representation in the lender and to give more weight to emerging market countries.

The main framework for discussing the changes will be the IMF"s Medium-Term Strategy, a paper that aims to keep the IMF, once one of the main architects of the global economy, relevant in the face of charges by both developed and developing nations that it has been ineffective as more borrowers opt to stay away from its funding and technical advice, which they say is geared toward industrialised nations and their corporations.

World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz hopes to carve some space with his new anti-corruption drive. In a press conference Thursday, he said the Bank will call for steps to support "the emerging international system of checks and balances".

Clean energy and meeting the world"s energy needs is another major issue for the Development Committee, a joint committee of the Boards of Governors of the IMF and World Bank.

At the Gleneagles Summit last July, the Group of Seven most industrialised nations plus Russia (G8) requested that the World Bank prepare a study about the global use of clean energy. The final document, which will be discussed during the meetings, recommends several financial instruments to advance investments in energy in developing nations.

A number of events by activists and anti-poverty campaigners opposed to the economic policies promoted by the IMF and the World Bank, which have become a staple of the annual meetings in recent years, will also take place alongside official discussions, yet they appear more subdued than in previous years.

During the meetings, development campaigners say they will try to shape the formal agenda by raising issues that officials are likely to discuss -- but as low-priority items. These include debt cancellation and increased foreign aid, which were the main topics at the meetings last year.

These groups will try to deliver the message that because the IMF has set such severe economic targets as conditions for its loans to developing countries, many of them now cannot afford to pay salaries for teachers, doctors and nurses or spend adequate funds on social services.

They blame the IMF"s sister institution, the World Bank -- both created by the of World War II in 1946 -- for not pressuring donors for long-term aid to the poorest countries and for not doing more to cancel debts accumulated by developing countries.

World Bank and IMF officials, however, have said their institutions" advice and loans are designed to ensure stability and economic growth for both rich and poor nations.

"We"re keeping up the pressure on the Bank, Fund and rich country donors," said Max Lawson, policy advisor for Oxfam International.

"The story of 2005 was promises from rich countries to increase their aid. The story of 2006 is whether these promises will result in real money to fight poverty and not aid increases based on clever accounting, politics and naked self interest."

Organisers want to focus attention on corruption and governance, but not along the lines of the campaign of World Bank president Wolfowitz. A number of organisations say that the debate should include the need for the World Bank to address past corrupt lending by canceling odious and illegitimate debts.

Some 70 groups issued a statement on Thursday saying that Wolfowitz"s campaign disregards the corruption that impacts countries that are dependent on World Bank loans.

Activists say any corruption fight will not be complete without responsible lending standards, recognition of the role of multinational corporations in corruption, and improved accountability and transparency, including whistleblower protections, at the World Bank, IMF and in impoverished country governments.

"The World Bank has financed many projects riddled with corruption such as the Enron power plant in Guatemala, the Chad-Cameroon oil pipeline and Shell in Nigeria," said Wenonah Hauter of Food and Water Watch.

"Many of these corporations are engaged in highly questionable activities, financed by the World Bank, that involve influence payments, human rights abuses, and projects with damaging social and environmental impacts. Who holds the World Bank accountable for continuing to reward corrupt behavior?"

During his press conference on Thursday, several activists interrupted Wolfowitz and chanted "Corporate corruption, who can we thank? The IMF and the World Bank".