It is not only Kalam's first visit here but the first by any high-level Indian official to this country.

And when Air-India One carrying the president and his 50-member entourage landed at the Keflavic airport here, it was the first time the Indian national carrier had touched down in Iceland.

Kalam is visiting a country with which India has bilateral trade worth only $17 million, but whose President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson is an Indophile who has close links with key people in the Indian political establishment.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi, then the leader of the opposition, had paid a private visit to this nation in June 2001 as a guest of the Iceland president.

Grímsson paid a state visit to India in October 2000 and visited the country again in February this year.

Kalam's visit, the highlight of which will be the initialling of an Air Services Agreement that will allow direct flights between the two nations, is also expected to further consolidate and expand bilateral co-operation between the two countries in all fields.

Both sides are expected to exchange detailed views on regional and international issues of mutual interest.

Kalam's schedule includes visits to various Icelandic scientific establishments.

Classical music and dance troupes from the Indian Council for Cultural Relations will present cultural performances in Iceland during the president's visit.