Overview

• On July 27, President Petr Pavel met the Dalai Lama in Leh and offered his congratulations on the spiritual leader’s 90th birthday.
• Pavel voiced strong support for the Middle Way approach, noting the Dalai Lama seeks freedom of religion, expression and language rather than full Tibetan independence.
• The Czech delegation met Central Tibetan Administration leaders at Thiksey Monastery and joined a cultural program at the Sonamling Tibetan Settlement.
• The Chinese Embassy in Prague issued a statement of “strong concern and firm disapproval,” warning that the visit could harm China-Czech relations under the One China principle.
• Pavel’s Ladakh visit follows months of high-profile engagements by Western officials and underscores growing international solidarity with Tibetan cultural and religious freedoms.