PRESIDENT Rupiah Banda has urged the American business community to consider investing in Zambia because the country is politically stable and endowed with abundant natural resources.

President Banda said foreign investors had often succeeded in Zambia, especially that the country has no history of civil wars or any skirmishes since independence.

He said Zambia's gross domestic product (GDP) had been growing at an average of 5.1 per cent annually since the early 2000.

Mr Banda said this when he addressed several business executives at Loews Regency Hotel in New York today.

He said investment opportunities were abundant in Zambia, especially in the agriculture, mining, tourism, manufacturing and energy sectors.

The president told the business community that Zambia had tracts of arable land coupled with abundant water resources, which were 40 per cent of the fresh water in the southern African region.

President Banda therefore, urged the business executives to take advantage of this resource and invest in agriculture and hydropower production because water was in abundance all year round.

Mr Banda said Zambia had attractive investment policies through the Zambia Development Agency Act of 2006.

"These incentives include tax exemption and concessions to companies, which invest in the country's priority areas, while Government had reduced the cost of doing business significantly," Mr Banda said.

He said that investors had legal protection especially that Zambia had an independent judiciary.

On mining, Mr Banda said Zambia was a second largest producer of copper in the world, adding that it still had huge copper deposits dotted around the country.

"Other minerals in Zambia are precious stones such as emerald, silver and gold," he said.

On tourism, the president said 33 per cent of land in Zambia was dedicated to game parks and other game management areas, noting that the hospitality industry also had huge investment potential.

And African Rainbow Minerals executive chairperson Patrice Motsepe who was among business executives in the audience testified that Zambia's investment climate was attractive.

Mr Motsepe, a South African, said his company was finalising plans to invest between US$300 million and US$500 million in Zambia.

And Mitsubishi International Corporation General Manager for Corporation Communications, Tracy Austin said her company had collaborated with Zambia in business for many years.

President Banda is in New York attending the 64th General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) but has seized the opportunity to hold bilateral and business meetings.

Earlier, Mr Banda held bilateral talks with Millennium Challenge Corporation Deputy Vice -President for Policy and International Relations, Sherri Kraham at the UN building.

Meanwhile, First Lady Thandiwe Banda today attended a Global Health Council meeting on maternal health and malaria held at Millennium Plaza Hotel in New York.

At the meeting, Nancy Brinker, who is the founding chairperson for the Susan G. Komen for Cure urged ministers of health in the world to fearlessly address the growing crisis of cancer.

Ms Brinker said ministers of health should integrate cancer screening and treatment under existing health programmes in developing countries.