Former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrives in Himachal Pradesh to meet Dalai Lama

Former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has arrived at Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra airport to meet Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama in Dharamshala.

Pelosi is part of a six-member high-level US delegation that has come to India to meet the Dalai Lama.

#WATCH | A US delegation including former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrives at Kangra airport, to meet Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh.

The delegation is received by officials of the Central Tibetan Administration pic.twitter.com/YBQoYTwasS

— ANI (@ANI) June 18, 2024

“It is very exciting to be here,” said Pelosi as she made her way out of the airport.

Who else is part of the delegation?

Apart from Pelosi, House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Gregory W. Meeks, House Rules Committee Ranking Member Jim McGovern, House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Indo-Pacific Ranking Member Ami Bera, and Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, and Nicole Malliotakis will meet the spiritual leader.

The delegation will travel to Dharamshala, the town in the hilly state where Dalai Lama lives in exile.

The meeting comes days ahead of a planned trip by the Dalai Lama to the US to undergo medical treatment for his knees, but it is unclear whether he will have any engagements during that time.

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What’s on plate?

Apart from meeting the 14th Dalai Lama, the US delegation will meet Indian officials and representatives of US businesses in the country from June 18 to 19, according to a statement issued by the US Foreign Affairs Committee.

The Republican chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Michael McCaul, said, “India is the world’s largest democracy and an important strategic partner of the United States.”

“Tibetans are a democracy-loving people who wish to practice their religion freely. This visit should highlight the bipartisan support in the U.S. Congress for Tibet to have a say in their own future,” his statement added.

Why is China irked?

The Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in Tibet. Chinese officials chafe at any interaction he has with officials from other countries.

Earlier this month, China’s Washington embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said Beijing “firmly opposes any anti-China separatist activities conducted by Dalai in any capacity or name in any country, and opposes any forms of contact by officials of any country with him.”

With inputs from agencies