Mumbai, July 17 - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Mumbai Friday night to begin her five-day visit to India that will focus on starting phase III of the India-US strategic partnership and give a push to civil nuclear and defence ties between the two countries.

Her aircraft landed at 10.15 p.m., sources at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) confirmed.

Clinton has chosen Mumbai as the first leg of her India visit to stress the US' solidarity with India's cosmopolitan city that suffered the brunt of a savage terrorist attack, allegedly perpetrated by Pakistani nationals, over seven months ago. She will be staying at the iconic Taj Hotel and speak at a commemorative event in the memory of 26/11 victims Saturday morning.

She will interact with top Indian business magnates at a meet organised by industrialist Ratan Tata.

Invigorating people-to-people contacts is a major focus of Clinton's visit.

She will interact with volunteers of the Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA), an NGO, and a social event that will be attended by, among others, by film star Aamir Khan. She plans to visit St. Xavier's College in Mumbai Saturday.

Clinton will fly to New Delhi Sunday afternoon. She will call on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and hold talks with her counterpart, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna in New Delhi Monday.

A slew of agreements, including pacts on an end-use monitoring agreement that will spur high-end arms sales between the two countries and another pact on space launches, are likely to be signed during her visit.