MUMBAI, India (3 October) -- After a decade of a previous Philippine leader's visit, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is scheduled to arrive in this highly-industrialized and affluent city late Wednesday evening for a three-day state visit that is expected to further boost economic and diplomatic ties between India and the Philippines.

The President will be flying in at the Mumbai International Airport via a chartered Philippine Airlines (PAL) flight at 10:45 p.m. (New Delhi time) from China where she just completed a two-day official visit.

Highlighting the first leg of her visit in this city Thursday is the signing of two trade agreements that are expected to further boost the bilateral relations between the two countries.

The Philippines' Macropharma Corporation, represented by its president, Jose Salvador M. Rivera, will sign a Joint Venture Agreement with the Indian company, Emcure Pharmaceuticals Ltd. through its executive director Arun Kumar, which will make available quality and affordable medicines in the Philippines in the field of nephrology and oncology.

A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the State Trading Corporation of India Ltd., through its chairman and managing director Dr. Arvind Pandalai, and the Philippine International Trading Corporation (PITC) headed by its president and chief executive officer, Jorge Mendoza Judan, will also be signed.

The MOA is expected to establish a long-term and mutually beneficial trade relationship for import and export of various products in both countries.

As part of her itinerary, President Arroyo will deliver a keynote speech at the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) to be held at the Ballroom of the Taj Mahal Palace and Towers, followed by a series of courtesy calls of various Indian businessmen.

She will also have a meeting and a High Tea with Shri Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna, the governor of Maharashtra State at the Raj Bahvan.

On Friday, the President goes to the Indian capital of New Delhi considered as a major travel gateway to this country and one of the busiest entry points for overseas airlines.

Full Indian military honors will be extended to the President upon her arrival at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Forecourt where she will lay a wreath at the Samadhi (tomb) of Mahatma Gandhi.

President Arroyo will have an expanded bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the Hyderabad House before the State Banquet to be hosted by Indian President, Prathibha Patil and his wife at the Ashoka Hall, Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The President is scheduled to deliver a speech at the Filipino-Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FICCI) meeting before attending to another series of courtesy calls of Indian businessmen based in New Delhi. She will also have a coffee meeting with the Filipino community.

On Saturday, the Chief Executive leaves New Delhi for Agra for a two-hour tour of the world-renowned Taj Mahal, a heritage site considered one of the eight wonders of the world.