President Mary McAleese today departed on an 11-day tour of southern Africa visiting Lesotho, Mozambique and Tanzania to check on Irish-funded aid projects.
The trip begins in Maseru, the first time an Irish head of state has made an official visit to Lesotho, where Mrs McAleese will meet dignitaries including the Regent, Prime Minister and cabinet ministers.
The President will meet staff at Mafateng District Hospital which runs an anti-retroviral treatment programme for HIV/Aids patients and Rapokolana Primary School whose buildings were funded by Irish Aid.
The second leg of the journey begins in Maputo in Mozambique where Mrs McAleese will visit former South African president Nelson Mandela at his home and be received by President Guebuza.
Irish NGOs working in the country have also been asked to brief Mrs McAleese on aid efforts in the region.
In Lichinga, the President will view a demonstration of demining by the Halo Trust which specialises in the removal of the debris of war, in particular landmines.
And she will visit a Medecins Sans Frontieres operation in Niassa seeking to help adults and kids fighting HIV/Aids. In Tanzania, the final leg of the tour, Mrs McAleese will address parliament.
Following a ceremonial welcome to Dar es Salaam and meetings with President Kikwete, Mrs McAleese will have the chance to visit Dogodogo Multipurpose Training Centre which provides skills training, social health and life skills education to street children.
She will also meet Maasai leaders who have links with Kimmage Development Studies Centre. President McAleese will also visit the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha where she will sit in on a trial and meet the tribunal judges.
Ms McAleese will also spend a day on the island of Zanzibar visiting the remains of the slave market, the last to close in Africa. During all three visits, President McAleese will meet the Irish community in each country including Irish NGO staff, missionaries and development partners.
The President will be accompanied by her husband, Dr Martin McAleese and they will be joined by Conor Lenihan, minister of state at the Department of Foreign Affairs with special responsibility for overseas development.