(TibetanReview.net, May06, 2018) – The US Ambassador to New Delhi, Mr Kenneth Juster, has called on Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, and met President Lobsang Sangay of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), during his May 3-4 visit to Dharamshala. Available reports suggest that it was a courtesy call.
Following the meeting with the Dalai Lama on May 4 morning, Juster was quoted as saying, “The meeting with His Holiness was tremendous. He is a very inspirational figure. We had a wonderful discussion, and it would be terrific if he were able at some point to travel to America. I was very inspired to be in his presence, and to learn from him, as was the rest of the delegation.”
Stating that their talks covered a range of subjects, Juster has said, “most important was his view about how the inner peace of individuals can spread and bring broader peace to mankind.”
Asked if he would recommend to US President Donald Trump that he meet with the Dalai Lama on his next visit to the US, Juster has said, “We will see what happens in time,” reported the Tibetan Service of rfa.org May 4.
The rest of the delegation included Anood Taqui, Special Assistant; Derek Westfall, Deputy Political minister Counselor; Thomas Kress, USAID, and Raj Marwaha, USAID.
Juster had two meetings with President Lobsang Sangay, said the CTA on its Tibet.net website May 4.
A career government official, Juster was appointed to his current post in Nov 2017. He previously served as the Deputy Assistant to the President for International Economic Affairs and Deputy Director of the National Economic Council in the United States Government from January 2017 to June 2017.
Members of parliaments of Australia, Estonia, and Sweden have recently called on the Dalai Lama, who has greatly curtailed his foreign visits due to his age, in recent weeks. A delegation from the European Parliament is to call on him on May 9.
Scope for dialogue between the exile leadership and China for the resolution of the Tibet issue remains dim with the latter rejecting any talk. The CTA on May 3 concluded the 30th meeting since 1999 of its task force for dialogue with China. The three-day meeting only discussed scope for a dialogue under President Xi Jinping who now wields more power than any other Chinese leader did since Mao Zedong who died in 1976.
