Former South African President Nelson Mandela was making progress, Speaker of the National Assembly Max Sisulu said on Saturday.

Sisulu visited Mandela at the Pretoria Heart hospital on Saturday, according to the South African Press Association.

"We are pleased with the progress Madiba is making," he said.

"We love him dearly and don't want to let him go," Sisulu said.

Earlier in the day, South African President Jacob Zuma said that Mandela "remains critical but stable, nothing has changed so far".

"That's where the situation is. We are hoping it is going to improve," he said.

"We hope very soon he will be out of hospital," Zuma said in a televised press conference with visiting U.S. President Barack Obama.

The day of Saturday is the 22nd day of Mandela's hospital stay, one of his longest since December. Mandela has been suffering from a lung infection which was the result of tuberculosis developed when he was serving prison terms under the apartheid rule. Endi

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