IMF board approves $1.3 bln lending arrangement for Ivory Coast

The International Monetary Fund's executive board on Friday approved a $1.3 billion, 30-month lending arrangement for Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa grower, under its Resilience and Sustainability Facility, the global lender said in a statement. The board's approval comes a month after IMF staff first reached agreement on the loan with the Ivorian authorities.

The IMF said the country's authorities had made strong commitments to reducing the adverse effects of climate change, and the IMF funding would support an "ambitious homegrown package of reform measures."