Sikyong Penpa Tsering begins three-day visit to the Netherlands

Welcome at Schiphol: the Sikyong with representatives of the Tibetan Community Netherlands, Tibet Support Group Netherlands and International Campaign for Tibet.

The Hague, 3 November 2026 – Sikyong Penpa Tsering, the democratically elected political leader of the Tibetan people, arrived in the Netherlands today for a three-day visit with several political meetings on the programme.

On arrival at Schiphol Airport, the Sikyong was warmly welcomed by representatives of the Tibetan Community Netherlands, Tibet Support Group Netherlands and International Campaign for Tibet Europe. He was received with khatas, the traditional white ceremonial scarves, and with the chemar, the wooden offering box of tsampa and barley that symbolises good fortune and prosperity on festive occasions.

The Sikyong is received at Schiphol with the chemar, the traditional offering box of tsampa and barley.

Who is the Sikyong?

Sikyong Penpa Tsering. Photo: Central Tibetan Administration.

Penpa Tsering has been Sikyong, the political leader of the Central Tibetan Administration in Dharamsala, since 2021, and was sworn in for his second term in May this year. The Dutch visit is the first foreign stop of a working tour that, according to the Central Tibetan Administration, also takes in the United States and Canada through the end of November. It is not his first visit to the country: in October 2024 he met members of the Dutch House of Representatives and the Hague Centre for Strategic Studies.

The welcome committee waits in the arrivals hall at Schiphol with Tibetan flags, khatas and the welcome banner.

Meeting with the Dutch House of Representatives

An important part of the Sikyong’s visit is his meeting with members of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Dutch House of Representatives on 5 November, from 14.30 to 15.30. It offers him an important opportunity to bring the situation in Tibet directly to the attention of the elected representatives: the systematic erosion of Tibetan language, religion and identity, the boarding school system that separates Tibetan children from their parents, and Chinese interference in the succession of the Dalai Lama.

Representatives of Tibet organisations and coalition partners have been invited to attend this meeting from the public gallery.

The meeting comes at a meaningful moment. In April 2025, the House adopted three motions by a large majority calling on the government to work towards a joint EU Tibet strategy, to protect the Dalai Lama’s succession procedure, and to hold China to account for human rights violations. The conversation with the Sikyong gives the committee an opportunity to hear what those motions have delivered so far, and what remains to be done.

Warm greetings with khatas in the arrivals hall.

Welcome

These high-level political meetings are an encouraging development in the ongoing efforts to strengthen political attention and support for Tibet, both in the Netherlands and internationally.

Tibet Support Group Netherlands warmly welcomes the Sikyong and hopes that his visit will contribute to further international parliamentary engagement and solidarity with the Tibetan people.

Members of the Tibetan community in traditional dress, ready for the reception.

Support Tibet Support Group Netherlands in its struggle for justice and human rights in Tibet.