Bipartisan US Congressional delegation arrives at exile headquarters

The  U.S Congressional delegation of the House of Democracy Partnership pictured o their arrival at the Gaggal airport near Dharamsala.

DHARAMSALA, Aug 2: A six-member delegation of American legislators has arrived in Dharamsala, the exile headquarters of the Tibetan people for a two-day visit.

The bipartisan US Congressional delegation of the House of Democracy Partnership(HDP) is led by its Chairman David Price (D-NC) and Co-Chair Vern Buchanan (R-FL). The other legislators were Congresswoman Susan Davis and Congressmen Gerry Connolly, Neal Dunn and John Rutherford.

The HDP is a bipartisan, twenty-member commission of the US House of Representatives that works directly with parliaments around the world to support the development of effective, independent, and responsive democratic institutions.

The members of the delegation are all active in the House Democracy Partnership and they were accompanied by Ngodup Tsering, Representatives of Office of Tibet, Washington DC.

Representative Ngodup Tsering described the support for Tibet at the US congress as strong and expressed his hopes that the visit will further strengthen the support for the Tibetan cause.

“Americans love the Tibetan people,” Congressman David Price (R-Fla), said while speaking to reporters on arrival at the Gaggal airport near Dharamsala and added: “Our purpose of the visit is to get familiar with the Central Tibetan Administration and to see what we can do to help.”

The delegation was received at the airport by Sonam Norbu Dagpo, Secretary of the Department of Information and International Relations along with senior officials of the CTA. The US Congressional delegation then paid a short visit to Norbulingka Institute which dedicated to the preservation of Tibetan arts and culture where they were received by the CTA President Dr Lbbsang Sangay and the institute’s Managing Director Dechen Namgyal Maja.

“We are very proud and honoured to have you here,” President Sangay told the bipartisan US Congressional delegation on a visit to the exile headquarter of Tibetan people on his invitation.

The itinerary of the delegates for 2-3 August includes visiting Kashag Secretariat for a brief meeting with President Dr Lobsang Sangay and his cabinet members on 3rd August, followed by a luncheon and meeting with His Holiness the Dalai Lama at his residence, and then a visit around Tsug-Lag-Khang, the main temple in McLeod Ganj, Dharamshala.

This will be followed by a meeting with the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament in exile. In the evening, they will interact with the officials of CTA at T-building, CTA.  The visit will end with cultural performances presented by the artists of TIPA and the delegates will leave Dharamsala on the early morning of 4 August. The delegation is accompanied by staff and members of the embassy and military escorts numbering to  32 guests in total.

On May 2017, a high-level bipartisan US Congressional delegation led by House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi and senior Republican leader Jim Sensenbrenner also visited Dharamsala.

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