Visiting United States President George Bush was welcomed by President Thabo Mbeki at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Wednesday. The motorcade carrying him and his wife Laura arrived shortly after 9.30am at the west wing of the buildings.
Their host, President Thabo Mbeki, and his Zanele were waiting at the stairs to welcome their visitors. An SA Air Force band played the anthems of the US and South Africa, and the two president took the salute from the national ceremonial guard.
Mbeki proceeded to introduce Bush to a number of Cabinet ministers and deputies, lined up next to a red carpet that was rolled out for the visiting couple. Mbeki, for his part, shook hands with senior officials from the Bush administration.
The two presidents then entered the building for talks. Access to the surroundings of the Union Buildings were strictly controlled, and police helicopters were patrolling the area from the air.
Bush arrived in Pretoria on Tuesday night for a brief official visit to South Africa.
The two presidents are to hold a media conference at 11.30 after their talks.
The talks will, among others, also be attended by Dlamini-Zuma, Powell, Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Walter Kansteiner, US national security adviser Condoleezza Rice and White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card.
The talks between the two presidents are expected to focus on a range of issues including the Zimbabwean crisis, other trouble spots in Africa, the situation in Iraq, peace efforts in the Middle East, and economic issues.
Mbeki leaves for the AU summit after the lunch, while Bush, who is on a week-long trip to Africa, departs for Botswana before travelling to Uganda and Nigeria. The US president’s first stop was in Senegal on Tuesday.
During Bush’s whistle-stop in South Africa several organisations also intend staging demonstrations against the visit. They include the African National Congress, the SA Communist Party, and the Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu), which hope to highlight opposition to America’s foreign policy on Iraq, Cuba, Iran, Syria, and Palestine.
Earlier on Tuesday, Mbeki his talks with Bush should focus on helping southern Africa in terms of its development.
”The cooperation between us and the United States in the context of an agreement that would be reached must focus on assisting this region in terms of its development,” Mbeki told SABC news television.
Mbeki said relations between South Africa and the US were good even though the two countries had differed sharply in the past on issues like Iraq and Zimbabwe.
”He (Bush) maintains quite an open door to us, and we have differed on matters. We’ve differed on Iraq, we differed on other issues, but there has never been any tension as a result of those differences. We talk about them,” Mbeki said.
”It’s a good relationship. It’s not hostile, it’s not tense. There is an agreement that each side would take whatever positions it thinks to be correct. – Sapa