WASHINGTON, May 6, CMC – Organisation of American States Assistant Secretary General Ambassador Albert Ramdin is to fly to Haiti this week as the 34-nation grouping welcomes the new prime minister Laurent Lamothe, appointed to the post a day after lawmakers approved his nomination on Thursday.

Lamothe, 39, was named prime minister by presidential decree on Friday after the lower Chamber of Deputies ratified the Senate’s April 10 confirmation.

The OAS said its second in command, Ramdin, is to travel this week to the Haitian capital, Port au Prince, to meet with political leaders.

He will also offer the 34-nation grouping’s support to Haiti in strengthening the rule of law, the organising parliamentary and local elections and developing the Haitian economy and society, the OAS said.

OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza congratulated the Haitian Parliament for “having demonstrated its will to advance toward the future and its capacity for compromise” with Lamothe’s confirmation.

“This confirmation represents a step forward for the political process and the stability of Haiti,” said the chief representative of the Washington-based hemispheric organization on Saturday.

Insulza said the OAS recognises the efforts made by President Martelly, Senate President Simon Dieuseul Desras and the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Levaillant Louis-Jeune, “who helped forge the consensus for the investiture of the prime minister and his new government”.

On Friday, the head of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) welcomed Lamothe’s confirmation.

Mariano Fernández Amunátegui, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and MINUSTAH head, praised Haitian leaders, including President Michel Martelly, and the heads of the Senate and the Lower House of Parliament, “for the dialogue between the executive and legislative branches that culminated in Mr. Lamothe’s confirmation”.

The UN official said he hoped that the government will quickly embark on its work programmes, including strengthening the rule of law and implementing reconstruction and economic and social development projects.

Lamothe, who was foreign minister, becomes Martelly’s second prime minister and his fourth choice for the post as the administration prepares to mark its first year in office on May 14.

After lawmakers rejected nominees Daniel Rouzier and Bernard Gousse, Gary Conille was approved as prime minister in October, only to resign in February after four months on the job.