On the Haiti situation he said his aim is "to see what we can do to move the process forward" there.

A press release from OAS headquarters in Washington said Ambassador Ishmael succeeded his counterpart from Guatemala, Ambassador Víctor Hugo Godoy Morales, in the rotating chair.

This is Dr. Ishmael's second time leading the organisation's second highest decision-making body. The previous occasion was in 1994, the release said.

The Guyanese diplomat explained that with democracy and democratic governance proposed by Chile as the main theme of the upcoming OAS General Assembly there in June, the issue would be an important priority for the Permanent Council.

"Democracy is under very severe threat in many countries," he stressed, adding that in many countries of the hemisphere, democracy "remains a fresh idea in the minds not only of governments but also of the people because the experience of democracy has not really taken on deep roots."

Ishmael also spoke about the need to "see how we can work together to develop and deepen democracy within our countries and at the same time to protect whatever democracy - or levels of democracy - we have achieved, and therefore the General Assembly would be a very opportune time to highlight this issue and to make it very clear to all the peoples of our hemisphere that we as representatives of governments, and governments for that matter, are very serious in moving this process of democracy forward."

He noted as well his intention to follow up on an initiative begun last year, to promote greater collaboration with the African countries, through their representatives in Washington, as there were a number of areas such as democratic development and managing the HIV/AIDS crisis on which African and hemispheric diplomats and experts could exchange experience.