MANAGUA, April 21 (Reuters) - Nicaragua hopes to be 'free' from the International Monetary Fund's influence within five years, although it will shortly seek a new loan agreement with the organization, President Daniel Ortega said on Saturday.

"Within five years Nicaragua will be free from the fund," said Ortega, a former Marxist cold-war rebel leader who regained power after elections last year.

The impoverished Central American nation will seek to extend its loan program with the fund at a meeting in Managua with IMF officials starting April 30. Ortega has vowed to work with business leaders and multilateral lenders.

But like his mentor, leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Ortega is often deeply critical of the fund, which many in Latin America accuse of overlooking the needs of the poor.

"It is a blessing to be free of the fund, and for the fund it will be a relief to rid itself of a government that defends the interests of the poor," Ortega said.

Nicaragua's previous $140 million IMF program expired on Dec. 12, a month before Ortega took office for the second time.

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