MANILA, Philippines -- Central Intelligence Agency Director Leon Panetta will meet President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo this afternoon in a regular but high-level talk on security cooperation between the United States and the Philippines.

Panetta, the 19th CIA director, is arriving in Manila Sunday and will call on Ms Arroyo in Malacañang at around 1 p.m., Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said Saturday.

"There's no specific agenda, except a broad range of issues of mutual interest. Considering that Panetta is the CIA director, the discussion will focus on the issue of security and of course, international terrorism,'' he said over dzRB.

Panetta will also meet with the Cabinet security cluster that includes Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro and National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales, officials said.

"They will talk about strengthening bilateral security cooperation and enhancing capabilities on information-sharing,'' said Ed Malaya, spokesman of the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Panetta's visit to the Philippines is part of his Asian swing. This has been "in the works' for three weeks," according to Malaya. He is departing tonight.

Panetta became CIA chief on February 9 this year. If there's anything he shared in common with Ms Arroyo, it would be their ties to former President Bill Clinton. He served as Chief of Staff to President Clinton from July 1994 to January 1997.

Clinton and Ms Arroyo were classmates at the Georgetown University in the 1960s.

Meanwhile, Ms Arroyo said that while economic growth has slowed down, the Philippines was "comparatively better off'' than most countries hit by the global economic slump.

Ms Arroyo told delegates to the 5th Ambassadors, Consuls General and Tourism Directors Tour that the gross domestic product and the gross national product managed to post positive growth of .4 percent and 4.4 percent, respectively, in the first quarter.

"The stark reality is that our economic growth has slowed. We have been affected. But we are comparatively better off than most other nations,” she told the delegates at the Ceremonial Hall.

She said that the 1.3 percent growth forecast for the Philippines by Standard & Poor was well within the government’s 0.8 to 1.8 percent growth forecast for this year.

Standard & Poor said in its Asia Pacific Sovereign Report Card that only nine of 21 countries are projected to post positive growth rates this year, including the Philippines.

"This is still a reality from which we can and should take heart and hope,'' she said.