Dharamsala, Jan 31 (IANS) Globe-trotting monk the Dalai Lama and US President Barack Obama will be together at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington next week, the second time in less than a year, his aides said here Saturday.
"His Holiness is on a religious tour to the US and will attend the National Prayer Breakfast Feb 5 where the US President will also participate," a senior functionary in the Dalai Lama's office told IANS.
He said so far there is no scheduled meeting between the spiritual leader and the US president.
However, the US has already played down an official engagement between the two.
"As he has done in the past, the president will see many religious leaders at the event, but we don't have any specific meeting with the Dalai Lama to announce," media reports, quoting National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan, said.
Obama has met the Dalai Lama thrice. Every time the meetings prompted sharp reaction from the Chinese government, which views the Nobel Peace laureate as a hostile element who is bent on splitting Tibet from China.
Obama met the Dalai Lama in February last year, saying the US supports his "middle-way" approach of neither assimilation nor independence for Tibetans in China.
The National Prayer Breakfast, an annual event held on the first Thursday of February in its 62nd year, brings together over 3,200 people from all 50 US states and 140 countries.
The Tibetan government-in-exile, based in this Himachal Pradesh town, views the presence of their spiritual leader and the US president at the religious ceremony as occasion to highlight the prevailing "tense" situation in Tibet.
It also believes reiteration of the US stand favouring early resumption of the talks between the Dalai Lama's envoys and the Chinese.
China and the Dalai Lama's envoys have held nine rounds of talks since 2002 to resolve the Tibetan issue. But after the last round of talks - the ninth - held in Beijing in January 2010 the deadlock continues.
The spiritual leader has met all the US presidents since George Bush (1991). He has met Bill Clinton and George W. Bush several times, the Dalai Lama office said.
In 2007, he received the US Congressional Gold Medal, even in the face of protests by China.
The Dalai Lama has lived in India since fleeing his homeland in 1959. The Tibetan administration-in-exile is based in Dharamsala town.
Budget 2023: Railway Minister said - Hydrogen trains will start running this year, and construction is being done with indigenous technology
Railways are preparing to run hydrogen trains this year itself. Talking to the media after the budget, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said that trains will be made world-class. Railways will try to
Forex Reserve: The country's foreign exchange reserves decreased once again, increased gold reserve
There has been a decrease in India's foreign exchange reserves once again. It declined by $1.763 billion to $630.19 billion for the week ended February 11, 2022. However, during this period, the value
IRDAI to issue regulations to govern Lloyd's syndicates
Chennai, March 13 (IANS) India's insurance regulator will frame guidelines for syndicates of Britain's Lloyd's to operate in the country, a senior official said Friday.He also said the Insurance
Bhajan Lal Sharma: Rajasthan's new CM Bhajan Lal Sharma has a very deep relationship with UP, his brother told the things of simple life.
Bhajanlal Bhaiya came to Agra in the year 1990. Sister Gaura's marriage was fixed. As soon as Bhajan Bhaiya came to know about this. He stopped here. Be it the work of booking the confectioner or
Delhi Air Pollution: Pollution stopped the pace of development of Delhi, and work on 4 big projects to get rid of traffic jams stopped
Pollution has stopped the pace of development in Delhi. Work on all the projects of the Public Works Department (PWD) came to a standstill on Monday. In this, there are four big plans to build
Last farewell given to martyr Colonel Ashutosh Sharma with moist eyes, tears spilling on wife and daughter
Colonel Ashutosh Sharma, commanding officer of 21 Army Rifles, who was martyred while taking on the militants in Handwara, Jammu and Kashmir, was given a final farewell with moist eyes in Jaipur with
Things can change after the death of Sushant Singh Rajput
The news of the death of film star Sushant Singh Rajput has once again made public the discussion on the subject of mental health.
S Jaishankar's world bluntly: India does not need advice from anyone, we will talk to the world on our terms
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in the ongoing Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi on Wednesday that India will maintain relations with the world on its terms. India does not need anyone's
Fans slammed the selectors for keeping Sanju Samson out of the T20I series against West Indies
IND vs West Indies Squad: The Indian team for the T20I series against West Indies was announced on Thursday. Two big names are missing from this series in the form of Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah.
Trump solely responsible for Capitol Hill violence: Final investigation report – conspired to change election results, everything happened at his behest
The House of Representatives, the lower house of the US Parliament, has accused Trump of a major conspiracy in the Capitol Hill attack case. The report said that on January 6, supporters of Trump