Colombo, Jumada I 22, 1436, Mar 13, 2015, SPA -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Sri Lanka Friday for a two-day visit aimed at improving diplomatic, trade and political ties, officials said. According to dpa, Premier Modi was welcomed by his counterpart Ranil Wickremesinghe before attending meetings, public events and addressing the parliament later in the day. The visiting premier was to travel to the northern part of the country on Saturday to open a railway project, housing scheme and meet with members of the country's main minority Tamil political party, the Tamil National Alliance . Ahead of the visit Sri Lanka released 86 Indian fishermen detained for poaching in its territorial waters. --SPA 13:24 LOCAL TIME 10:24 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w