The Indian Army Chief General V K Singh arrived in Sri Lanka this afternoon on a five-day visit to the island nation. His visit is expected to promote bilateral military ties and defence cooperation between the two countries. General Singh's visit is being seen as a preparatory to the Indo-Lanka defence dialogue scheduled to begin next year. During the course of his stay in Colombo, General Singh would pay floral tribute at the memorial for the Indian Peace keeping Force (IPKF) soldiers and officers who laid down their lives in the fight against the LTTE. He will be the first Indian Army Chief to visit the memorial, since the time it was erected. He is scheduled to meet the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Prime Minister D M Jayaratne, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Sri Lankan Army Commander Lt General Jagath Jayasuriya and other senior defence officials. He will also meet the Sri Lankan External Affairs Minister G.L.Peires. The Army Chief is also scheduled to visit the Sri Lanka Military Academy in Diyatalawa.