AKIPRESS.COM - Narendra Modi has begun his trip to neighbouring Sri Lanka, becoming the first Indian prime minister to visit the island nation in nearly three decades.

Modi is looking to reassert India's influence over Sri Lanka after its drift towards China, reports Al Jazeera.

The prime minister will hold talks with Sri Lanka's new President Maithripala Sirisena, who has promised to repair international ties damaged under his predecessor Mahinda Rajapakse's China-friendly regime, after a ceremonial welcome in Colombo, Sri Lanka's capital.

Modi will also address parliament and visit the Tamil-dominated northern Jaffna region on a visit that comes just weeks after Sirisena made India his first foreign port of call since his election in January.

While observers do not expect major policy initiatives so soon after the neighbouring leaders' last meeting, it is seen as an important signal of a desire to reset ties.

"I am sure together we are going to script a golden chapter in the history of India-Sri Lanka relations," Modi said this week as he set off on a three-nation tour that has already taken him to the Seychelles and Mauritius.