The Nicaraguan government announced it had given a diplomatic passport to Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

The announcement was made after Thai government said Wednesday it had revoked Thaksin's normal passport because he incited violence which caused the cancellation of the ASEAN summit in Pattaya.

Nicaragua said in a statement Wednesday that Thaksin had been appointed as an special ambassador so that he could help attract investment to the poor central American country.

The passport was issued in January when Thaksin visited the country and it was given to him in February when he met Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega.

The government said in a statement President Ortega had asked the foreign ministry to accredit Thaksin as an ambassador of Nicaragua on a special mission in order to bring more investments to the country.

Thailand