LUSAKA, August 8, 2008 (AFP) - Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa, hospitalised in France after suffering a stroke last month, is unlikely to recover quickly, Health Minister Brian Chituwo told parliament on Friday.

'Let us clearly remember that by the serious nature of our Republican president's illness, the healing process will indeed be long,' Chituwo told MPs.

Chituwo said that Mwanawasa remained in the intensive care unit at the Percy Military Hospital near Paris, although his condition was stable.

The 59-year-old suffered a stroke in Egypt on June 29, on the eve of an African Union summit. It was his second stroke in just over two years. He was airlifted to France after initially being treated in Cairo.

Late last month vice president Rupiah Banda had said medical experts treating Mwanawasa were happy with his progress since he was admitted on July 1.

'The condition of Mwanawasa continues to improve. The doctors treating Mwanawasa are satisfied with the steady progress he is making in his recovery,' he said in a statement on July 25.

Zambians had by then begun to question the government's updates on the president's condition.