WASHINGTON - International Monetary Fund staff have reached agreement with Ivory Coast on the first semi-annual review of its economic reform programme, clearing the way for disbursement of another $500 million on approval by the Fund's executive board.

The West African country's reform programme is supported by IMF facilities worth about $3.5 billion approved in May.

An IMF staff team visited Ivory Coast between Sept. 19 and Oct. 3.

"Performance under the programme has been satisfactory so far and ... we reached staff-level agreement on all policies," the head of the delegation, Olaf Unteroberdoerster, said in a Fund statement on Wednesday.

(Reporting by David Lawder in Washington and Sofia Christensen in Dakar; Editing by Alexander Winning)