BLANTYRE, March 5 (Xinhuanet) -- Malawi President Bingu wa Mutharika Saturday left for a one-week working visit to European Union (EU) headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.

    Lucius Chikuni, secretary for foreign affairs, told journalistsMutharika will meet different EU officials, including the president of the European Investment Bank.

    "He is on a working visit to the EU to explain his economic plans," he said.

    Mutharika told reporters before departure from the capital Lilongwe that he was going to discuss the continuation of various programs funded by the EU.

    The EU funds road construction and agricultural projects in Malawi.

    "This visit is extremely important because it will consolidate our relationship with the EU," he said. "We want the EU's help to Malawi to increase for economic development."

    Mutharika, who was elected following the controversial May 2004polls, has launched wide-ranging economic reforms designed to win international donor support and turn around the agriculture-powered economy which has stagnated over the past decade.

    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other international donors, including the EU, are withholding over 75 million US dollars over concerns of lack of fiscal discipline and corruption by the administration of Mutharika's predecessor, Bakili Muluzi. Enditem