'We have impressed upon Sri Lanka that the immediate need to resettle 300,000 Tamils should get top billing in our agenda,' said Krishna.

'They have assured us (that) within 180 days they will be able to resettle most civilians.'

India has agreed to assist Sri Lanka in the rehabilitation of the Tamils, most of whom fled areas controlled by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) before the rebels were decimated.

This was the first high-level contact between India and Sri Lanka after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met President Mahinda Rajapaksa on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Summit in Egypt last week.

Krishna arrived in Phuket Tuesday night on a three-day visit aimed at boosting India's multi-faceted engagements with Southeast Asia and East Asia.

India has told Sri Lanka that the manner in which Colombo addresses the 'legitimate concerns' of the Tamil population will impinge on the relationship between the two countries.