The Sri Lankan President, Chandrika Kumaratunga, has arrived in India for talks with the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, over developing closer economic ties.

The leaders hope to sign a landmark free trade agreement although officials haven't yet worked out all the details.

The agreement aims to boost cooperation between India and Sri Lanka and reduce tariffs to zero over the next three years.

At the moment trade between Sri Lanka and India is heavily weighted in India's favour.

Both countries also expressed support for a free trade zone at the South Asia Association for Regional Co-operation summit in August.

But the BBC Delhi correspondent says that since then tensions between India and Pakistan over their nuclear tests have overshadowed trade issues.