East Timor’s departing Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão will stay in the cabinet as Investment Minister, the government said on Wednesday.

Mr Gusmão resigned last week as Prime Minister. Former Minister of Health Rui Araujo was appointed as his replacement on Tuesday.

The President approved the new Prime Minister’s cabinet list that includes Mr Gusmão as head of a newly created Investment Ministry, which is believed to oversee planning, infrastructure and the statistics department.

Mr Gusmão, who was Prime Minister for nearly eight years after serving as the first post-independence President, said he stepped down to allow a younger generation to lead.

Dr Araujo, East Timor’s fifth post-independence Prime Minister, said the new cabinet represented unity and consensus. The new Government is to be sworn in on Monday.