ABIDJAN,Feb 16(AFP)-Cote d'Ivoire's transitional government has paid
overdue debts it owed to the African Development Bank(ADB)and the World
Bank, officials from the two organisations confirmed Wednesday. An ADB
statement said that the government had Monday reimbursed amounts due
(estimated at 21 million US dollars) and "has no overdue payments towards
our institution as of today."
 The World Bank's press officer in Abidjan, Bakary Sanogo, said the
government had also paid an outstanding 17 million dollars it owed the
bank, plus its February instalment of 317,000 dollars. The World Bank's
representative here, Mamadou Dia, had said two weeks ago that the
institution would suspend financing in Cote d'Ivoire unless the African
nation paid
 the over-due money by mid-February. Dia had told a press
conference at the time that the bank was ready to work with the new
military authorities, if the debt problem could be dealt with.
 Late January, the new government paid back the European Union some 30
million dollars in financial aid which it said had been misappropriated by
previous authorities.Cote d'Ivoire owes the World Bank two billion dollars.
the World Bank and the IMF suspended major loans to Cote d'Ivoire in
December 1998, citing "bad governance" and budget mismanagement. END

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