The Dalai Lama, spiritual and political leader of Tibet, will visit the White House on Wednesday for a meeting with US President George W. Bush, the White House announced overnight (HK time).
It will be Mr Bush's first meeting with the Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his efforts to win Tibetan self-rule through nonviolence. He heads his movement from headquarters in Dharmsala, India.
Before meeting Mr Bush, the Dalai Lama will meet on Tuesday with Secretary of State Colin Powell, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and Under Secretary of State Paula Dobriansky, special co-ordinator for Tibetan issues, a State Department official said.
The Dalai Lama is on a three-week, eight-city tour of the United States.