Washington  - US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is due to arrive in India on Friday for weekend talks aimed at strengthening ties between the two countries, the US State Department said.

Clinton will first visit in Mumbai to with a "broad cross section" of India and will offer a remembrance to the victims of the November terrorist attacks, spokesman Ian Kelly said.

Clinton will then fly to New Dehli for meetings with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the minister of external affairs, Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna.

Clinton and Krishna will discuss an "enhanced US-India strategic partnership that will enable us to advance solutions to the defining challenges of our time," Kelly said.

She has no plans to travel to Afghanistan and Pakistan on a trip that includes a stop in Thailand for a conference of Southeast Asian nations, Kelly said.

Clinton has said the climate change will also be on the agenda. The United States views India and China as key toward combating greenhouse gases, but the two countries have been unwilling to sign on to stringent measures.

The United States and India are also working on following through on an agreement finalized last year allowing US firms to provide nuclear material and technology to India for use in generating civilian energy.

Clinton will depart India to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations gathering in Phuket, Thailand. She will visit Bangkok July 21- 22 before heading to the resort town for the July 22-23 meeting.

Kelly said he expected North Korea to be high on the agenda at ASEAN. (dpa)