Monday, December 26 2005 16:11 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: A month after his election to the highest office of his country, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse will arrive here tomorrow on a four-day state visit during which he is expected to brief Indian leaders on the peace process with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and explore ways for further consolidating bilateral ties.

Rajapakse, who is undertaking his first visit abroad after becoming the President, will meet President A P J Abdul Kalam, Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat besides holding wide ranging talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

He will also interact with other senior politicians and a cross-section of Indian leaders in various fields.

"The whole spectrum of bilateral relations will be reviewed during the visit and ways of strengthening relations further will be discussed," External Affairs Ministry sources said here.

India attaches immense significance to the visit considering the decision of Rajapakse, formerly the Prime Minister, to make this country his first overseas destination.

Terming Indo-Sri Lanka relations as excellent, the sources said there was a 'very good understanding' and interaction at the political level between the two countries.

Trade and investment were expanding rapidly and the institutional framework of the relationship has been strengthened further while infrastructural linkages were being augmented and people-to people contacts intensified.

The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed by India and Sri Lanka about three years back has enabled faster consolidation of commercial ties to their mutual benefit.