Tibetan parliament-in-exile hopes Modi to raise Tibet issue with China at BRICS summit

The Tibetan parliament-in-exile based in Dharmasala hoped Prime Minister Narendra Modi would discuss the long pending Tibetan issue with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the ongoing BRICS summit.

On the sidelines of the BRICS summit at Fortaleza in Brazil, Modi met Xi, as they discussed the unresolved border issue and highlighted the need to address the trade deficit.

The sixth summit of the BRICS, which consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, will be held in Brazil till July 16.

The Speaker of Tibetan parliament-in-exile, Penpa Tsering, hoped the government will express the long standing position on Tibet.

"We hope that from a larger picture, the Tibetan issue will also be considered since we are not asking for independence. There should not be any problem for the government of India to express their long standing position on Tibet. More pronouncly, China may know where India stands on Tibetan issue," said Tsering.

Meanwhile, Modi invited Xi Jinping to India and the Chinese President might visit in September. Xi also invited Modi for a bilateral meeting and the PM is likely to visit China in November.

Tsering further added the pragmatic approach taken by spritual leader Dalai Lama in resolving the issue of Tibet with China must be taken into consideration.

"While discussing India-China relations we hope that the Tibet issue will also be taken into consideration, particularly the pragmatic approach taken by his Holiness the Dalai Lama in resolving the long standing issue of Tibet with China and this is also related with India. Therefore, better relationship between India and China should be a good catalyst in addressing the Tibetan issue which will again help in building better trust between India and China," Tsering added.