Surayud's visit began with a reception by India's President Abdul Kalam followed by a wreathlaying ceremony at Mahatma Gandhi's memorial in the capital.

He is accompanied by Foreign Minister Nitya Pibulsonggram, Minister of Commerce KrikKrai Jirapaet and Minister of Energy Piyasvasti Amranand.

Surayud is expected to press India to increase BangkokMumbai and BangkokNew Delhi flights.

"Relation between India and Thailand are based on age old historical, civilazational and cultural links and encompass a range of areas including political, defence, security, science and technology and cultural exchanges," India's Ministry of External Affairs had said in a statement on Monday.

The Thai prime minister is expected to push for the speeding up negotiations for a free trade area (FTA). If the FTA goes through, the two countries can hope to increase their current 3 billion dollar bilateral trade by 30 per cent per year, officials said.

Surayud was also schedule to address Indian business leaders at an meeting later in the day.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Surayud are also expected to discuss issues relating to the 10member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean); the Bay of Bengal MultiSectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), and the MekongGanga Cooperation project  subregional groupings of which India and Thailand are members.

Besides visiting Delhi and the northeastern city Kolkata, Surayud will also visit the northeastern Hindu holy city of Varanasi and nearby Sarnath, where Lord Buddha is said to have first unveiled his discourses on enlightenment, officials said.

The Nation