WASHINGTON, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- Cote d'Ivoire is seeing increasingly lively economic activity thanks to strong export growth and a pick-up in private investment, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said.

    According to a statement issued by Arend Kouwenaar, IMF mission chief for Cote d'Ivoire Thursday, economic activity in Cote d'Ivoire has continued to expand as a result of strong export growth and a pick-up in private investment. Surging world food prices and adjustments in domestic petroleum prices, however, at the same time have pushed up inflation.

    The IMF mission visited Abidjan from Sept. 25 to Oct. 8.

    During the trip, the mission reviewed the implementation of the economic program for 2008 supported by the IMF's Emergency Post-Conflict Assistance (EPCA) and discussed a new program that could be supported by the IMF's Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) to help low-income countries.

    The mission noted that indirect taxes on certain food items were temporarily reduced to attenuate the impact of these price pressures, but recommended to introduce measures that directly target the most vulnerable groups.

    It expressed concern over "sizeable unprogrammed spending on large construction projects and overruns on subsidies for the electricity sector were at the expense of resources for critical social and post-conflict rehabilitation needs, and that domestic arrears have continued to accumulate," the statement said.

    The mission welcomed the steps taken to improve transparency in public resource management, notably through regular public reporting on budget execution and on financial flows in the energy sector, and through initiating the restructuring of the cocoa and coffee sector.

    The strong implementation of the 2008 economic program, including remedial actions, is key to moving toward a PRGF arrangement, the statement added.