Tibetan Prime Minister hopes for better relations with China

A cautiously optimistic Prof Samdhong Rinpoche, Prime Minister of Tibetan Government in-exile said that there would be some progress in the dialogue process with China in the New Year.

ANI, a leading multimedia news agency in South India, interviewed the Tibetan PM on this subject Saturday. Samdhong Rinpoche stated, "Dialogue process might take some new shape in the next year, in 2010, and I would not say I have much expectations, but I would say we have hope that some improvement will come in the process of dialogue."

Earlier, Rinpoche had describing the dialogues process with Chinese leadership as "frustrating and difficult".

Rinpoche had said despite the Tibetan exile leaders' efforts to restore communication with Chinese authorities and hold eight formal dialogue sessions in the past, there has been no sign of cooperation on major issues.

Today, the Rinpoche attended a teachers' seminar called "Education for Peace" in Rait village, Himachal Pradesh.

The Tibetan PM expressed his approval of the seminar's topic, stating, "Today, the greatest challenge to the world is violence and destruction and the teaching community need to prepare the coming generation who can work for peace and stability."

The one-day workshop was organized by Dronacharaya College, near Dharamsala, to help teachers deliver lessons in peace to their students.

"The seminar, basically we have planned because there is a lot of problems in the country and it was thought probably the teachers, or specially the trainee teachers, will be the best people to educate people on the process of peace," said Y. D. Singh, the director of Dronacharaya College.