Ndola — PRESIDENT Mwanawasa has disclosed that Belgium intends to grant Zambia a debt relief of US$5 million, which will further reduce the country's debt burden.

Mr Mwanawasa has also extended his stay in Livingstone to a two-day working holiday following the conclusion of the fifth Zambia International Business Advisory Council (ZIBAC) conference that was held from July 22-24.

He announced the intended debt cancellation in his congratulatory message to King Albert II of Belgium on the occasion commemorating the ascension to the throne of King Leopold I.

In a statement issued in Lusaka yesterday by his special assistant for Press and public relations John Musukuma, Mr Mwanawasa hailed the cordial ties that Zambia and Belgium continued to enjoy.

Mr Mwanawasa announced the extension of his stay for a working holiday in Livingstone after the ZIBAC conference.

The conference hosted by the Government was held at the Sun International Hotel and discussed among other major issues telecommunications, power, tourism, infrastructure and the Zambia Development Agency (ZDA).

The ZIBAC conference is an annual event initiated in September 2003 by President Mwanawasa with the aim of facilitating public-private dialogue on economic policy issues and how to enhance private sector contribution to economic development.