Barack Obama and his wife Michelle will hold a private meeting with the family of Nelson Mandela during their trip to South Africa, the White House has confirmed.
However the US President and First Lady will not see the 94-year-old former South African leader, who is critically ill in hospital.
"Out of deference to Nelson Mandela's peace and comfort and the family's wishes, they will not be visiting the hospital," the White House added in a statement.
Mr Obama has arrived in Pretoria as part of a three-nation Africa tour and will first attend bilateral talks with South Africa's president Jacob Zuma.
Earlier, Mr Obama told reporters in Senegal that he "did not need a photo op" with the anti-apartheid icon and would not be pushing for a visit with him.
Mr Mandela is critically ill in hospital "I think the main message we'll want to deliver, if not directly to him, but to his family, is simply profound gratitude for his leadership," Mr Obama said.
The prospect of a public encounter between the first black presidents of South Africa and the US had been eagerly awaited for years, but has now been scuppered by Mr Mandela's failing health.
Since starting his Africa tour on Thursday, Mr Obama has paid fulsome tribute to the man globally admired as a symbol of struggle against injustice and of racial reconciliation for the way he led South Africa out of centuries of white-minority rule.
The president has called Mr Mandela a "personal hero" and is due to make a tour on Sunday of Robben Island, the former prison where the anti-apartheid leader passed 18 of the 27 years he spent in jail.
It comes after Mr Mandela's ex-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela said the former South African president's condition has shown "great improvement" over recent days.
Speaking outside the Pretoria hospital on Friday where the 94-year-old is being treated for a recurring lung infection, she said he remained "unwell".
She said: "It becomes very difficult to understand the seeming impatience and statements like: 'It is time for the family to let go'.
"And statements like: 'We are praying for the family not to pull the tubes'.
"Those are insensitive statements that none of you would want made about your parents and grandparents."
Mr Mandela, South Africa's first black president, was taken to hospital three weeks ago with recurrent lung problems.
He turns 95 next month.
On the eve of Mr Obama's visit, Mr Mandela was said to be in a critical condition, but had stabilised since a scare forced Mr Zuma to cancel a trip to neighbouring Mozambique.
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