Thein Sein was scheduled to have dinner at Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej’s residence, cooked by the PM himself, said reports. Samak is known for his love of food and cooking.

“First, he was scheduled to dine at his hotel so I invited him to have dinner at my house, and he agreed,” Samak told reporters on Tuesday.

Thein Sein is scheduled to talk with Samak officially on Wednesday followed by an audience with King Bhumibol Adulyadej, according to a Thailand Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement.

The two countries are scheduled to sign agreements on contract farming projects that Thailand wants to set up in Burma for rubber and palm oil plantations.

Analysts said the visit will focus on bilateral projects, business deals, cross border drug trafficking and illegal migration as well as the May 10 constitutional referendum in Burma.

Samak said, “Initially Thailand offered assistance [in conducting the referendum], but Myanmar [Burma] said they are ready to conduct the referendum on their own.”

“I don’t think I can comment more. I will be accused of being Burma’s mouthpiece, but as far as I know, after the referendum is complete on May 10 and elections are held in the next two years, there will be three parties to contest the election,” he said. “Burma’s democracy is similar to Thai democracy in the past 30 years, which began with a half-democratic constitution.”

Thai foreign minister Noppadon Pattama said before Thein Sein’s arrival the referendum will be credible. “It is regarded as a step toward democracy in Myanmar [Burma],” he said.

Bo Kyi, the joint secretary of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners-Burma, a human rights group, said current Thai foreign policy on Burma is based largely on business interests.

“There are a lot of Thailand business interests in Burma,” he said. “If Thailand’s interests in Burma also included moral considerations, it would be better.”

Thailand, one of Burma’s largest investment and trading partners, opposes the economic sanctions favored by many Western and European countries, arguing that putting pressure on the military government to change is counterproductive.

Nyo Ohn Myint, the head of the foreign affairs office of the National League for Democracy (Liberated Area), a Burmese opposition group in exile, said, “To improve business relations between the two governments, they need to show they have confidence in each other. I think the trip part of that concept.”

After the People Power Party in Thailand won in the December elections, the new government renewed warmer relations with Burma. During an official trip to Burma this year, Samak said Burma was a peaceful country, and the ruling generals were good Buddhist who practiced meditation.

A Burmese political analyst, Aung Naing Oo, said Thailand’s foreign policy will focus on a “no-problem” diplomacy.

“Thailand is a business-based country,” he said. “If there are problems between the two countries, the Burmese military government will close its borders. Then Thai businesses will lose millions of dollars a day. This kind of thinking drives the current foreign policy of Thailand.”

Burma’s political instability poses risks for Thailand, which has an estimated two million Burmese migrant workers and hundreds of thousands of refugees. Other problems include drug trafficking and the spread of diseases.

Commenting on Thein Sein’s trip, a Thai historian at a university in Bangkok who asked for anonymity, said current relations between Thailand and Burma illustrates the backward foreign policy of each country, which puts business interests above democratic principles.

The people in both countries are struggling for more democracy and better governments that address the needs of the people, she said.