Ecuador would end credit ties with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after paying off its 33-million-U.S. dollar debt to the financial body, the economy minister said on Tuesday.

Ecuadorian Economy Minister Rafael Correa, nominated by President-elect Rafael Correa, said, "We will not sign any letter of intention, or ask for any loan from the IMF." But he said that as an IMF member, Ecuador would maintain contact with the body.

Correa, who will take office on Jan. 15, said the World Bank and IMF had interfered in Ecuador's economic policies, and that he hoped to seek new financing channels.

Ecuador's central bank said that up until November 2006, its foreign debt amounted to 10.328 billion dollars, or 25.3 percent of the country's gross domestic product.

Correa has previously said he would renegotiate foreign debt and did not rule out using a moratorium on debt payment following Argentina's model.