The Haitian government has appointed Wyclef Jean as a "roving ambassador" in a bid to promote the troubled country's image abroad.
Haitain-born Jean has long been a kind of unofficial ambassador for his home country, despite the fact his family moved to New York when he was just nine. In particular he established the non-political humanitarian organisation Yéle Haiti which aims, in Jean's own words, "to restore pride and a reason to hope, and for the whole country to regain the deep spirit and strength that is part of our heritage".
Crediting the hip hop star with the passage of a trade bill in US Congress which is expected to help create textile manufacturing jobs in Haiti, a bill Jean has been personally lobbying for, the country's government has said that it considers the former Fugee to be "our best asset to promote the country's image around the world and to help attract foreign investors". Meanwhile, the country's Foreign Affairs Minister Renald Clerisme told Reuters: "We wish we could have several Wyclefs as roving ambassadors because the country could have gained so much".
A spokesman for Haitian President Rene Preval also confirmed that Jean would take part in a presidential visit to Jamaica taking place this week.