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The US Congressional delegation led by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul arrived in Himachal Pradesh’s Dharamsala on Tuesday.
Apart from McCaul, the delegation consists of six prominent US Congressional members
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with a bipartisan group of United States congressional members on Thursday during their two-day visit to India. Former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is part of the delegation that earlier met Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.
Led by Congressman Michael McCaul, the US delegation includes six congressional members, including, Mariannette Miller, Gregory Meeks, Nicole Malliotakis, Jim McGovern, and Ami Bera. On Wednesday, members of the US delegation met with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. In a post on social media platform X, Jaishankar appreciated the “strong and continued support” for the India-US strategic partnership.
“Pleasure to meet with the bipartisan US Congressional delegation led by @RepMcCaul. Thank @SpeakerPelosi, @RepGregoryMeeks, @RepMMM, @NMalliotakis, @RepBera, and @RepMcGovern for joining. Appreciate their strong and continued support for the India-US strategic partnership,” Jaishankar wrote.
In addition to meeting Jaishankar, the US lawmakers visited Dharamshala and met with the Dalai Lama.
The delegation stated their commitment to ensuring China does not influence the choice of his successor, remarks expected to provoke Beijing, which views the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader as a separatist. These remarks coincide with efforts by Washington and Beijing to stabilize their relations, while India urges China to ensure lasting peace on their disputed Himalayan frontier, following a military clash four years ago.
The lawmakers also indicated that Washington would pressure Beijing to resume talks with Tibetan leaders, which have been stalled since 2010, to address the Tibet issue, with a bill expected to be signed by President Joe Biden soon. “It is still my hope that one day the Dalai Lama and his people will return to Tibet in peace,” McCaul told a public reception after the meeting.
The U.S. group, which includes Democratic former House Speaker Pelosi, arrived on Tuesday. Pelosi said Congress approval of the legislation, titled “Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act”, or the Resolve Tibet Act, sent a message to China that Washington was clear in its thinking on the issue of Tibet. “This bill says to the Chinese government: things have changed now, get ready for that,” she said to cheers from hundreds of Tibetans at Wednesday’s event.
(With agency inputs)
