Washington, D.C.: Sikyong Penpa Tsering engaged in several strategic meetings on Tibet with U.S. government officials across key legislative and executive branches this week. The primary focus of Sikyong’s visit, after taking oath of his second term in the presence of His Holiness the Dalai Lama on 27 May, was on the implementation of existing US’s laws on Tibet related matters and the new political developments in the light of enactment of a Chinese new law on ethnic unity and progress, that codifies the ongoing forced assimilationist policies aimed at erasing the very identity of the Tibetan people and other nationalities in the PRC.
Sikyong Penpa Tsering had his first official meeting with the Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues and Assistant Secretary of the State, Honourable Riley Barnes. Sikyong also met with the teams from DRL and Bureaus of South and Central Asian Affairs and East Asian and Pacific Affairs. The discussions encompassed a broad range of issues pertaining to Tibet, including religious freedom, democracy and countering PRC’s malign influence and the ongoing U.S. policy engagement, including the critical importance of reviving the Tibetan language news services of VOA and RFA.
Sikyong met with the appropriations and foreign relations committee related to Tibet matters on the Hill and the State Department to focus on the implementation of existing US laws and appropriations on Tibet-related matters. In a joint staffer meeting of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC), in addition to focusing on the Tibet programming matters, the implementation of the current laws on Tibet and the new Chinese law on ethnic unity and progress.
Sikyong also engaged with the media, watchdogs, and thinktanks, including a Tibetan media briefing organised by a recently formed International Tibetan Media Organisation (ITMO). He met with the leadership of Freedom House to discuss the common challenges and strategies in confronting the ongoing attacks on human freedom, dignity, and democracy from rising authoritarianism around the world.
Sikyong’s four-day visit to D.C. concluded with a meeting with the Tibetan community at the community centre of the Capital Area Tibetan Association. Sikyong is scheduled to return to India on Monday, 22 June, after visiting the Tibetan community in New York and New Jersey and meeting with the board of The Tibet Fund.
– Report filed by Office of Tibet, Washington, D.C.
Freedom House CEO @jamiemfly was honored to meet with @SikyongPTsering. We are committed to supporting the Tibetan people and the Central Tibetan Administration as they advance freedom, human rights, and democratic governance.
Tibet, which remains under PRC occupation, receives… pic.twitter.com/t6o7ijn11r
— Freedom House (@freedomhouse) June 18, 2026
