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Huy, Belgium, 29 May 2006 (Bureau du Tibet, Brussels) - His Holiness the Dalai Lama was received at the National Airport Zaventem, Brussels, by Mrs. Anne Marie Lizin, President of the Belgium Senate and Mr. K. J. Francis, Head of the Chancery of the Indian Embassy along with the Representative of the Organising Committee of Yeunten Ling Tibetan Institute.

 

His Holiness' motorcade proceeded to Yeunten Ling, Tibetan Institute at Huy which is the organizer of the teaching and public programs.  The monks of the Yeunten Ling Institute, local people and the Tibetan community in Belgium greeted His Holiness upon his arrival at the Institute.

 

After lunch, His Holiness gave a brief audience to the Belgian Senate's President, Mrs. Anne Marie Lizin, and Mrs. Christina Funes-Noppen, a devout Buddhist and the incumbent Belgian Ambassador to Kenya.

 

His Holiness then inaugurated the Thupten Shedrupling Temple with a brief address to the gathering.  His Holiness said that he came to the Institute when its foundation stone was laid and now during His Holiness' current visit the temple is half way to completion.  His Holiness expressed that it would be incomplete if he did not come after its full completion.  At the end of the program His Holiness watched a brief Tibetan cultural performance given by the Tibetan community of Belgium.  Despite heavy rainfall, over 1500 people patiently waited to receive a blessing and to hear His Holiness and watch the Tibetan cultural performances.  Press coverage was high and His Holiness' visit was widely covered through the major media agencies of the country.

 

Tomorrow's programs include a reception at the Town Hall of Huy and an address at the National Congress on 'Strategies for Peace and Mutual Understanding'.  In the afternoon, His Holiness will leave for Brussels to take part in a discussion on 'Fundamental Rights and Mutual Respect' organized by the European Commission.