United States President George Bush is to arrive at Waterkloof Air Force base outside Pretoria late on Tuesday night for a brief official visit to South Africa.
He will be accompanied by his Secretary of State Colin Powell and Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Walter Kansteiner.
Senior officials in the Bush delegation include national security adviser Condoleezza Rice and White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card.
Bush will be received by foreign affairs chief of protocol Billy Modise.
Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma might form part of the welcoming party, officials said on Monday.
”As yet, it is not clear whether she will be able to leave the African Union summit in Maputo in time.”
Bush will be formally welcomed at a ceremony at the Union Buildings around 9am on Wednesday.
South African presidential spokesperson Bheki Khumalo said Mbeki and Bush would hold one-on-one talks for about an hour.
They would then go into broader bilateral discussions for about another hour.
This session would, among others, also be attended by Powell, Kansteiner, Rice, Card and Dlamini-Zuma.
Afterwards, the two presidents would address the media at the Presidential Guest House. Mbeki would then host a luncheon for Bush in the guest house. Both leaders would speak at the event.
Mbeki would leave for the AU summit after the luncheon, Khumalo said.
However, several organisations intend staging demonstrations against the Bush visit. They include the African National Congress, the SA Communist Party, and the Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu).
Police spokesperson Senior Superintendent Selby Bokaba said this group had been granted permission for a march on the US embassy from 11am to 3pm on Wednesday.
Cosatu spokesperson Patrick Craven said protesters would highlight their opposition to US foreign policy on Iraq, Cuba, Iran, Syria, and Palestine. Bokaba said the organisers expected 10 000 people to take part in the demonstration.
The Anti-War Coalition was given permission to gather at the American embassy in Pretoria from noon on Wednesday.
It told police about 1 000 supporters were expected to turn up, Bokaba said.
Information about Bush’s movements in South Africa for the rest of Wednesday could not be obtained on Monday.
US embassy spokesperson Judy Moon said this might be released later.
”All I can say is that those events will not be open to the media.”
The talks between Bush and Mbeki were expected to focus on a range of issues, South African cabinet ministers said in the past few days.
These included the Zimbabwean crisis, other trouble spots in Africa, the situation in Iraq, peace efforts in the Middle East, and economic issues.
Bush is to arrive in Pretoria from Senegal, the first stop on his African tour. Next on his itinerary are Botswana, Uganda and Nigeria. – Sapa