Amid mounting international concern about the plight of civilians caught up in the fighting between government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels, the ministers were to meet their Sri Lankan counterpart Rohita Bogollagama.
They were to "reiterate the international community's calls for a ceasefire, respect for international humanitarian law and protection of civilians," the French foreign ministry said in a statement.
On the eve of the visit, Sri Lankan authorities announced they had denied Sweden's Foreign Minister Carl Bildt a visa to join the peace mission -- prompting a diplomatic spat with the European Union.
A Sri Lankan foreign ministry official indicated that Colombo felt it had already done enough by letting in Miliband and Kouchner, who also want to see the government lift a ban on foreign aid staff working in the war-torn north.
After months of heavy fighting, the Tamil Tigers have now been confined to a tiny strip of coastal jungle in the northeast and are said by the milit