Premier Pamela Gordon is set to rub shoulders with female national leaders from all over the world.

For the Premier has been invited to join the Council of Women World Leaders first-ever annual meeting.

Ms Gordon said over the weekend: "When you look at who's on the list, it says a lot for Bermuda.

"I'm very pleased and honoured to represent the Country at this event and I'm sure it will be a very interesting conference.'' The women leaders will meet at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University at the end of the month.

Among the Council members are former Phillipines president Cory Aquino, ex-Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, Kim Campbell, once Canadian Prime Minister, ex-French PM Edith Cresson and Mary Robinson, who served seven years as President of the Republic of Ireland.

Current Heads of Government slated to attend include Jenny Shipley, New Zealand Prime Minister, Janet Jagan, the president of Guyana, Irish president Mary McAleese and Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wasid.

Ms Gordon said the aims of the Council include dealing with the globalisation of the world economy -- especially the move away from nation-states and individual treaties to transnational commerce.

The Council also aims to promote women in leadership roles -- still a largely male preserve -- and to foster international co-operation.

Ms Gordon said relatively informal gatherings like the Council would give Bermuda the opportunity to drum up interest in the Island -- hopefully leading to an increase in business and tourism.

And she added it may even provide information and support in dealing with the Baselands clean-up row with the US and Britain's insistence on uniform standards on money-laundering and white-collar crime among its remaining Overseas Territories.

Both Canada and the Philipines have had run-ins with the US over bases since the end of the Cold War.

Premier Gordon called to Womens conference Ms Gordon said: "It's not only a chance to beat the drum, but also to see the type of relationships where we can get some degree of empathy and moral support. "If we're able to make the right connections and decisions, meet in this sisterhood, which I suppose is the best way to describe it, you never know what might come out of it.'' She added: "It's a great opportunity for Bermuda -- it's the first ever summit, so I feel very honoured that Bermuda has been invited to participate.

"It's also a great opportunity for Bermuda to rally support -- one of the aims is to assist where needed and if other countries can lend a voice in dealing with our problems, it's good to know that support is there.''