Ramaphosa in South Africa visits Trump in the White House: Live updates

Bernd Debusmann Jr.
Reporting from the White House

Image source, Bernd Debusmann JR/BBC News

It is rainy and gray in the White House today, only a few hours until the Cyril Ramaphosa meeting with Donald Trump.

When I arrived this morning, there was hardly any signs that a foreign dignitary is visited today. Only a small, handful of reporters took among umbrellas who made their lives and the press areas of the White House were – and remain – sparse.

Both South African and US officials described this more as a “job visit” than a state visit.

In practice, this means that Ramaphosa's journey to the White House without the entire Pomp and the PageTantry of a more formal state visit.

Ramaphosa, for example, does not stay with the White House in the Blair House, where foreign leaders such as Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu have stayed with state visits since Trump has returned.

It is also unlikely that he will receive a reception from the flag-bearing US military personnel, although Trump will be greeted at the doors of the west wing before the start of her meeting.