No appointment of Thaksin as adviser : Sri Lanka

"The government would like to categorically deny the information that Thaksin Shinawatra will be appointed as an economic advisor", a Colombo foreign ministry statement said.

Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama had telephoned his Thai counterpart Kasit Piromya on Wednesday regarding the matter, the statement added.

Thaksin's brother-in-law Somchai Wongsawat claimed on Wednesday that Colombo will name Thaksin as an adviser to the government.

Earlier Colombo-based Daily Mirror online quoted Sri Lanka's Deputy Finance Minister  Sarath Amunugama as saying that he is not aware of any such move.

"I don't know about such a move. Such a move would be unlikely taking into consideration his background," he said.

Somchai, also a prime minister, called on the government not to be overly concerned about the move, alluding to the retaliatory measures when Thaksin became the adviser to Cambodia last month.

He said Thaksin working for Cambodian and Sri Lanka should not be seen as harmful to the security of Thailand.

In the past couple of months, Thaksin revealed he made two trips to Sri Lanka.

Cambodia's appointment of Thaksin as an economic adviser in November has sunk the bilateral ties with Thailand recalling its ambassador and first secretary and suspending many financial assistance projects.