THE President, Mrs Robinson, begins her official visit to South Africa today when she arrives in Cape Town from Pretoria, where she spent last night. Mrs Robinson will be met at the airport by President Nelson Mandela, who will accompany her to his official residence for further discussions.
The President's party includes her husband, Nicholas, and the Minister of State at the Taoiseach's Department, Mr Jim Higgins.
Their escort for the visit is Prof Kader Asmal, the former law professor at Trinity College, Dublin, who is now Minister for Water Affairs and Forestry in Mr Mandela's government.
After her meeting with President Mandela, Mrs Robinson will travel to her suite in the Mount Nelson Hotel, where she will be visited by the Vice President and leader of the National Party, Mr F.W. de Klerk, and the Minister for Home Affairs and leader of the Inkatha Freedom Party, Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi.
Following a lunch hosted by the Speaker of South Africa's Parliament, Dr Frene Ginwala, the President will deliver an address to a joint sitting of the parliament. In the afternoon she will visit a museum commemorating Cape Town's District Six, a lively desegregated area which was bulldozed to the ground under apartheid legislation. In the evening there will be a state banquet in her honour, hosted by Mr Mandela at his Tuynhuys residence.
Tomorrow, the President has a programme of engagements in Cape Town, including a visit to the Robben Island prison in Table Bay. She will also visit the offices of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for a private meeting with the body's chairman, Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Awarded the Nobel peace prize for his role in the anti apartheid struggle, Archbishop Tutu is now charged with investigating political crimes committed during the apartheid era.