The Argentine government said on Tuesday that Latin American nations will send a diplomatic mission to visit Haiti soon to show support to local political parties and candidates contesting the upcoming general elections.

Argentina's Foreign Ministry made the announcement shortly after Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Peru and Uruguay held an emergency meeting on Tuesday. All the participant countries will send representatives to Haiti.

The meeting was also joined by head of the Organization of American States (OAS) Jose Miguel Insulza and Juan Gabriel Valdes, the United Nations representative in Haiti.

The diplomatic mission will urge Haiti's political leaders to build a democratic, peaceful, stable and prosperous state that will benefit all Haitians, and to respect the results of the elections, said the ministry in the statement.

Haiti badly needs to ensure security during and after the voting as well as the rule of law so as to sustain the country's democracy, it added.

The ministry said the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti should be extended, but added that it must be appropriately funded and include a plan for Haiti's independent development.

It also expressed its sympathy for the "irreparable losses suffered by Minustah (the acronym for the UN mission in Haiti)," including the death of Brazilian general Urano Teixeira da Matta Bacellar, who led the mission.

Haiti's general elections, set for Feb. 7, have been postponed several times because of organizational problems and violence.

The UN peacekeeping forces suffered more losses on Tuesday when two Jordanian soldiers who were taking part in an operation to control the Cite Soleil slum and disarm political and criminal gangs there were killed by gunmen.

Source: Xinhua