President Arroyo is scheduled to meet the Thailand Prime Minister in Malacañang in his first trip to Manila since his appointment last January, Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said.

The Thai Prime Minister is tentatively scheduled to arrive in Manila on May 22 for a two-day visit.

"It’s an introductory call of the new Thailand Prime Minister on all ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) leaders," Bunye said.

"The visit to the Philippines is second to the last leg of the ASEAN swing, originally scheduled last April, but moved to a later date because of the illness of the Thailand Prime Minister," Bunye added.

Early last month, President Arroyo announced the global rice situation would be high on the agenda in her bilateral talks with the visiting Thai leader.

Mrs. Arroyo said she plans to negotiate a rice supply agreement with Thailand to augment the country’s buffer stocks, amid the soaring prices of the staple.

"We’ll see what the rice supply availability in Thailand iswhen we meet the Prime Minister, but that’s already for an additional buffer to make sure that in June, when the lean season happens, we have rice at that time," she said.

The President, in a luncheon meeting with businesswomen in the Palace last Friday, said the country’s friendly relations with the world’s top rice exporters could help Filipinos weather the shrinking supply of rice and high prices.

Mrs. Arroyo said the government reached out to Vietnam and Thailand long before the shortage in rice and high prices in the world market.

"Traditional relationship is a key element as sellers are forced to choose between hordes of willing buyers with open wallets so the buyers who bought early are the only ones with rice," she said during a luncheon meeting with members of the Soroptimist International of the Philippines region in Malacañnang.

"Only those who come to the party early leave with party favors. Thank goodness, the Philippines is one of them," she added.

The Philippines, one of the world’s largest rice importers, has been struggling to boost rice supplies as world prices have soared in recent months.

So far, the country has bought about 1.7 million tons of rice for this year, but the President said it will need 2.2 million tons to augment buffer stocks, especially during a lean period in the third quarter.