The European Union will maintain aid to Ivory Coast despite the current economic crisis, EU president Herman Van Rompuy told visiting Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara on Wednesday.

Van Rompuy said after talks with the Ivorian leader that he had "assured him of our commitment to back stabilisation efforts in Ivory Coast," the former West African powerhouse ravaged by post-election violence this year after a decade of instability.

Fighting began in the world's top cocoa-producer after now-jailed former president Laurent Gbagbo refused to step down after an election defeat last November, and ended with Ouattara's UN-backed victory in April.

The EU last July committed 125 million euros to five projects to help relaunch the economy and reconcile the divided country.

"Security is returning," Ouattara said. "We will ensure security returns through dialogue, reconciliation and truth.

"Security will be better if Ivorians feel better, live better."

The Ivorian president said the country had requested "a boost and an increase" in EU aid and expressed confidence in a favourable response.

No details were immediately available on the size of the request.

Last week, the Paris Club of governments said it had reached an agreement with Ivory Coast to defer and forgive $1.8 billion in its foreign debts.

The deal is expected to reduce the west African country's debt service burden through mid-2014 by more than 78 percent and cancels $397 million of debt outright.

The Ivorian government earlier this month also concluded a $616 million three-year IMF loan programme to help revive the economy.