U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met a representative of the Dalai Lama in New Delhi on Wednesday; a move likely to anger Beijing which considers the Tibetan spiritual leader a dangerous separatist.
Antony Blinken, took to twitter and shared few pics from the meeting, he wrote, “I was pleased to meet civil society leaders today. The U.S. and India share a commitment to democratic values; this is part of the bedrock of our relationship and reflective of India’s pluralistic society and history of harmony. Civil society helps advance these values.”
Blinken also met briefly with Ngodup Dongchung, a representative of the Dalai Lama. A State Department spokesperson said, "Secretary Blinken had an opportunity to meet briefly this morning in New Delhi with a representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama."
In his opening remarks, Mr. Blinken spoke of the “great challenges” for all democracies in the world, particularly India, and the U.S., where Congress has been holding committee hearings on the January 6 attack on the Capitol House by pro-Trump protesters. Mr. Blinken said the India-U.S. relationship was one of the “most important” in the world whose people were “connected by shared values”.
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“The Indian people and the American people believe in human dignity and equality of opportunity, the rule of law, fundamental freedoms, including freedom of religion and belief,” Mr. Blinken said in remarks released to the media.
“We believe that all people deserve to have a voice in their government and be treated with respect no matter who they are,” he added. The Union government’s response to recent protests and dissent were a part of the discussion that followed.