Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who is undertaking a three-day maiden state visit to India, is scheduled to hold talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, according to the Times of India.

The talks between Rajapaksa and Modi will reportedly explore ways to further expand the already close ties between the two neighboring countries.

It's reported that the two leaders will talk about several issues, including fulfilling aspirations of the Tamil community in Sri Lanka, the situation in the Indian Ocean region and steps to boost trade and investment ties.

The state visit to India is the first overseas visit by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa after he took the reins in  Sri Lanka over a week ago.

The Sri Lankan leader tweeted that he was looking forward to strengthening bilateral ties with India before leaving for New Delhi. "Leaving for my first state visit to India and looking forward to strengthening bilateral relations with Shri@narendramodi and Govt of India," he tweeted.

(With input from agencies)