He leads a 57-strong delegation, including the ministers of foreign affairs, finance and commerce, and 10 leading Thai businessmen. The last visit was by the late Prime Minister Chatichai Choonhavan in 1990. Before leaving Bangkok, Thaksin told reporters he hoped that Thailand - the world's leading rice exporter - and India could cooperate to prevent price cutting of rice exports. Thailand has agreed to cooperate on rice exports with Vietnam and is also seeking deals with Pakistan and United States, Thaksin said. The Thai government spokesman, Yongyuth Thiyapairat, said that during the three-day visit, officials would discuss setting up a free trade pact between Thailand and India and a plan by Southeast Asian countries to build a road from Thailand, through Myanmar and Bangladesh, to India's Assam State to promote trade. Bangkok's The Nation newspaper reported that Thaksin would also visit Infosys Technologies, a leading software development company in India's information technology hub, Bangalore in southern India. He hopes Thailand can learn from India's successes in the knowledge-based economy, the report said. Bureau Report