Dalai Lama meets fellow Nobel icon Suu Kyi

Dharamsala - Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama met fellow Nobel laureate and Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in London, an aide of the spiritual leader said here Wednesday.

"His Holiness the Dalai Lama met Suu Kyi in London and this was the first ever meeting between the two Nobel icons," Tenzin Taklha, joint secretary at the Dalai Lama's office, told IANS.

According to a post on the Dalai Lama's official website, the spiritual leader told Aung San Suu Kyi, who had come to London on a private visit: "I have real admiration for your courage. I am very happy we've been able to meet."

During the half-hour conversation Monday the Dalai Lama told Suu Kyi that just as her late father had shown great dedication, he was confident that she too would be of great service to humanity.

The Tibetan leader also wished her success in fulfilling her goals and said he looked forward to meeting her again.

Like the Dalai Lama, Suu Kyi is also currently on a European tour. She delivered her Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech in Oslo June 16, more than two decades after receiving the honour.

Suu Kyi, 67, was released in November 2010 after completing over seven years of house arrest. She has spent 15 of the past 20 years under arrest.

Welcoming her release, the Dalai Lama had said: "I welcome the release of fellow Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. I take this opportunity to appeal to freedom-loving people all over the world to support such non-violent movements."

The Dalai Lama and his supporters fled Tibet and took refuge in India when Chinese troops moved in and took control of Lhasa in 1959.