Sri Lankan Prez arrives in India on first foreign visit

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena arrived here today on a four-day official visit to India.

A ceremonial reception will be held at the Rashtrapati Bhawan tomorrow in honour of the visiting dignitary. He will also pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi at the Rajghat.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will call on the Sri Lankan President at Hotel ITC Maurya tomorrow.

President Sirisena will later hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Hyderabad House here.

After the talks, some agreements are likely to be signed between the two sides in the field of culture, people-to-people contact and agriculture.

President Pranab Mukherjee will also host a banquet in honour of the visiting dignitary.

On Tuesday, the Sri Lankan President will travel to Bodh Gaya and later to Tirupati. He is expected to depart for Colombo on Wednesday.

This is President Sirisena's first overseas visit after assuming office.