The West African nation of Ivory Coast is set to receive the first tranche of a $3.5 billion loan that was approved Wednesday, the International Monetary Fund announced.

The 40-month arrangement will "help support the country's transformation towards upper-middle income status" in the medium term, the IMF said.

Ivory Coast will receive $495.4 million (Є460 million) of the amount immediately, the global lender said.

Three-pronged financial pressure

The country has been reeling under the pressures of the impact of COVID-19, the impact of the war in Ukraine and a global economic downturn more generally.

"Consecutive global shocks have strained Cote d'Ivoire's public finances as well as regional reserves," IMF Deputy Managing Director Kenji Okamura said in a statement, referring to the country by its French name.

The disbursement of the full amount will be dependent on the country making structural changes to its economy.

rm/jsi (Reuters, AFP)