The Chilean National Congress's upper house on Wednesday agreed to extend the country's troop deployment in Haiti, as part of the United Nations Stabilization Mission (Minustah).

A two-hour special session of the Senate approved the decision, with 29 votes in favor and five abstentions. Chile's Foreign Minister Alejandro Foxley and Defense Minister Vivianne Blanlot attended the meeting.

The government agreed to deliver a monthly report on the situation in Haiti to the Senate's foreign affairs and defense committees.

Chile has around 600 Army, Navy and Air Force troops in Haiti, which have been rotated at regular intervals since their first arrival in March 2004.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Tuesday informed the Security Council that he would appoint the Guatemalan Ambassador to the European Union, Edmond Mulet, as the new head of Minustah. Mulet will succeed Juan Gabriel Valdes, who is from Chile.

Minustah was established in 2004 and consists of 7,500 peacekeepers, including more than 1,200 Brazilians, and 2,000 international police.

Source: Xinhua