ABIDJAN, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The special representative of the United Nations secretary general in Cote d'Ivoire, Choi Young-jin, received a delegation from International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday.

    Head of the delegation Doris Ross said she had come to discuss with Choi the speeding up of the process to end the crisis, a UN official disclosed.

    Ross said she was satisfied with "what the United Nations Operations in Cote d'Ivoire (UNOCI) was doing to totally unify the whole of Cote d'Ivoire."

    On the IMF's role in ending the crisis, Ross said the world financial institution had and would continue to provide economic aid to the government of Cote d'Ivoire, especially in terms of debt reduction.

    She said "the PPTE initiative for the reduction of debt" will "go on under some conditions that the government must fulfill" with the help of the World Bank.

    In March, the IMF approved a 565.7-million-dollar loan in an effort to help alleviate poverty in Cote d'Ivoire.

    The decision will enable the west African state to immediately draw the equivalent of 159.348 million of the IMF's special drawing rights (SDR) (about 241 million U.S. dollars), it said.

    The African Development Bank (AfDB) also offered 64 billion FCFA (128 million dollars) to Cote d'Ivoire in March in aid to the country's development program.

    Officials describe the move as an important step 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.

    According to Cote d'Ivoire's Planning Ministry, the poverty rate in the country rose from 49 percent in 2002 to 62.45 percent in 2008.

    Up to 1.5 million people have been displaced since Cote d'Ivoire was plunged into a civil war in September 2002 following a failed coup against President Laurent Gbagbo. The rival sides signed a comprehensive peace agreement in March 2007 in a move to seek reunification of the country.

    The UN Security Council has adopted resolution 1865 to reduce the UNOCI presence from 8,115 to 7,450, citing "increased stability" in Cote d'Ivoire, where the Nov 29 presidential election is expected to end the years of crisis.