Oct 5 (Reuters) – Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara said on Thursday he hoped to finalize negotiations with the International Monetary Fund on a loan from its Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST) before the IMF board meets next month.

Ouattara made the comment after hosting a speech by IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva ahead of next week’s annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Marrakech, Morocco.

She told the event that the IMF had already approved loans under the new RST facility to 11 countries, including six in Africa, of which five were in sub-Saharan Africa. Many more would follow in the next year or two, she said, including one for Ivory Coast.

The new trust, which became operational in October 2022, provides longer-term affordable financing to help lower-income and vulnerable middle-income countries implement reforms aimed at mitigating the impact of climate change and adapting to it.

The IMF on Wednesday said its staff had reached agreement with Ivory Coast on the first semi-annual review under a $3.5 billion loan program approved in May, clearing the way for disbursement of another $500 million once approved by the IMF board.

No details were immediately available on Ivory Coast’s request for a loan under the RST program.

Georgieva recognized Ivory Coast’s transformation in recent years “from a conflict-affected and fragile economy … to one of the fastest growing economies in Africa.”

The IMF plans to host a session on the new lending instrument at the annual IMF-World Bank meetings in Marrakech next week.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Writing by Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by Chris Reese and Bill Berkrot)