African Development Bank offers Cote d'Ivoire 128 mln dollars in aid

ABIDJAN, March 7 (Chinese media) -- The African Development Bank (AfDB) offered 64 billion FCFA (128 million U.S. dollars) to Cote d'Ivoire in aid to the West African country's development program, the bank official has announced here.

An agreement on the financial support was signed on Friday at the AfDB headquarters in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia, where the bank also lifted the sanctions on Cote d'Ivoire after the clearance of its arrears.

The money will go to the country's development program with a priority to promote financial and market operations, AfDB representative in Abidjan Ngardingo Sangbe told a press conference.

The official described the resumption of cooperation as an important element for Cote d'Ivoire to gain access to the World Bank-backed aid program for the most indebted poor countries (PPTE), under which the country could benefit from a package of 3 billion dollars.

PPTE candidate countries must adjust their economic plans and conduct reforms to ensure poverty alleviation and good governance. The aid program currently targets at 33 countries, including 27 in Africa, of which 10 are put in the temporary phase with the rest yet to attain the point of decision.

In 2003, the AfDB suspended the cooperation with Cote d'Ivoire amid the country's political crisis and its accumulation of arrears that hit 517 million dollars.