External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna will arrive in Colombo today on a four-day visit to Sri Lanka. Apart from bilateral issues, Mr Krishna’s visit will focus on the review and the progress of the project undertaken by India for building 50,000 houses in the war-ravaged north for internally displaced Tamil people. His visit is also expected to give a boost to talks on political devolution and reconciliation.

This is his second visit to the island nation in the last 14 months. Besides holding wide-range talks with his counterpart GL Peires, he will also hold discussions with the leader of the opposition Ranil Wickremesinghe and meet the leaders of the various Tamil parties, including the leaders of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA).

Mr Krishna is expected to call on the Sri Lankan Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne and the President of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa on the second day of his visit.
During the course of his visit, External affairs Minister will visit Kilinochchi and Jaffna in the Northern Province, and Galle in the South to oversee a host of programmes involving Indian assistance.

The External Affairs Minister will also meet European Union Foreign Policy Chief Baroness Catherine Ashton during the Indo-Europeon Ministerial Meeting in Bangalore today. Official sources said the meeting will hold discussion to prepare the ground for the 12th EU-India Summit to be held in New Delhi on the 10th of next month.

On the agenda will be security and trade, as well as foreign policy issues. A comprehensive and balanced Free Trade Agreement between the EU and India is also likely to figure in the interaction between the two leaders.

AIR Correspondent adds that the meet
will strive to strengthen political and economic ties and create opportunities for synergies in addressing regional and global challenges, including inthe field of security.