PRESIDENT Rupiah Banda has said the Czech Republic should help market Zambia to European investors, saying the country has huge investment potential.

The president said this at State House yesterday when Czech republic Prime Minister Jan Kohout paid a courtesy call on him.

"I will sell your country and you will sell ours too, we have big mines on the Copperbelt and North-Western provinces. Zambia is a big country and I wished you could stay here long and see this country and I hope that your business people will come back to Zambia," President Banda said.

In the delegation of Mr Kohout were 15 business personalities from the mining, energy, transport and manufacturing among others.

President Banda said he was happy that Mr Kohout and his delegation were in the country and the move signified the cordial relationship between the two countries.

He said as a student, he went to Czech Republic and was currently happy with both the political and economic transformation in that country.

Mr Banda said the Czech Republic was able to move from one-party State to a multi-party State without any political upheavals.

Since Zambia was a member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Mr Banda would assist market the Czech Republic to the rest of the regional grouping.

Mr Kohout said he was happy to be in Zambia, which was a sign of the good relationship between the two countries.

His country was impressed with the peace and the democratic environment prevailing in Zambia and the country's efforts in ensuring that peace prevailed in the rest of the southern African region.

Mr Kohout said Zambia has been a role model in ensuring that good governance and peace prevailed.

When the country was reverting to plural politics in the early 1990s, he said the transition was done peacefully and advised that many African countries should emulate Zambia.

Mr Kohout would visit some projects in Choma before returning to his country tomorrow.

And speaking when he arrived at the airport, Mr Kohout said Zambia was still a priority development destination for the Czech Republic.

He said the delegation of businesspersons in his entourage would look at potential investment opportunities in Zambia.

Mr Kohout said the business delegation was eager to invest in Zambia in areas such as tourism.