The visiting Indian Army chief General V K Singh on Monday called on the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Prime Minister D M Jayaratne and the Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and discussed issues related to bilateral defence cooperation between the two countries. Earlier in the morning, General Singh was given a ceremonial guard of Honour by the Sri Lankan Army at the Army Headquarters in Colombo. The visit of the Army Chief hopes to strengthen bilateral military ties and defence cooperation between the two neighbours. The visit is also being seen as a preparatory to the Indo-Lanka defence dialogue scheduled to begin next year. The Indian Army Chief who is in the island nation on a five day visit arrived last afternoon. General Singh who served in the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) during Operation Pawan in Sri Lanka in 1987 is scheduled to pay floral tribute at the IPKF memorial Monday evening. This memorial has been built for the Indian Peace keeping Force (IPKF) soldiers and officers who laid down their lives in the fight against the LTTE. Besides, meeting the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister G L Peires, General V K Singh is also scheduled to meet the Sri Lankan Air Force and the Navy commanders on Monday afternoon.