Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will Friday begin a visit to Jammu and Kashmir to boost the state's economic development and to acquaint himself with the situation on the Siachen glacier, the world's highest battlefield.

The three-day tour will be Manmohan Singh's fourth visit to Jammu and Kashmir since assuming office in May last year. He will become the first prime minister to visit Siachen, the scene of a standoff between Indian and Pakistani forces since 1984.

In addition to laying the foundation stones of two power projects at Kargil and Leh Saturday, the prime minister will make an aerial survey of the Siachen region and interact with some of the troops deployed there Sunday.

Manmohan Singh is also expected to address a small public gathering at Leh, the headquarters of the Ladakh region, Saturday and inaugurate the annual Sindhu Darshan tourism festival Sunday after returning from Siachen.

Officials said the prime minister's trip to Siachen was part of efforts to acquaint himself with the ground situation on the glacier as India and Pakistan continue with efforts to demilitarise the region.

The visit is aimed at boosting the morale of troops deployed on Siachen at heights of up to 21,000 feet, the officials said. The prime minister has been declared fit by doctors to undertake the visit but will spend a day at Leh Friday to acclimatise himself.

Manmohan Singh will be accompanied to Siachen by the Indian Army chief, Gen. J.J. Singh, who recently made a trip to the region to supervise arrangemenst for the prime minister's trip.

Senior officials of the army's Leh-based 14 Corps, which is responsible for guarding the frontiers with China and Pakistan as well as the 110-km Actual Ground Position Line on Siachen, will brief the prime minister.

Guns on the glacier have been silent since India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire along the frontiers in Jammu and Kashmir in November 2003 but the adverse weather conditions there continue to claim lives on both sides.

The defence secretaries of the two countries held talks in Islamabad last month on the Siachen and Sir Creek issues.

During his first visit to Jammu and Kashmir, Manmohan Singh announced a Rs.240 billion financial package for the state. He travelled to the state again in April to inaugurate the Lahore-Muzaffarabad bus service and the Jammu-Udhampur train service.