Prior to leaving Delhi for Europe, Dr Sangay will attend a conference of Asian youth leaders in New Delhi on 19 November.

Kalon Tripa will visit seven European countries including Switzerland, during which he will meet members of parliament, political analysts, support groups and the media. He will also meet and speak to members of the Tibetan communities based in these countries.

Kalon Tripa will return to Dharamsala on 5 December.

The offering of "katas" or white scarf is an auspicious Tibetan tradition for welcoming and the start of a good relationship. Ambassador Miloslav Stasek refused to disclose any information about the issues he will take up with The Nobel Peace Prize laureate, His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

"I am here till Friday and this is not an official visit, I can't say anything about the meeting at the moment," he told reporters at the airport.

His Holiness will first visit Amabaran, an ancient Buddhist place in the Akhnoor border belt. "We expect him to address an expected gathering of 50,000 people at Ambran," Health Minister Sham Lal told reporters on Tuesday.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate will also impart wisdom to a group of school children in Akhnoor, and inaugurate a photo exhibition in Kala Kendra on the Amabaran Buddhist site.

In view of His Holiness' visit, Director of Tourism, R S Mehta convened a meeting with the representatives of Travel, Trade and Hotel Associations to discuss necessary arrangements and security measures to ensure his visit goes smoothly.

Banners, hoardings and advertisements were put up to create an atmosphere of utmost welcome for the Nobel Peace Prize laureate. The Buddhist leader's visit will give a much-needed boost to pilgrim tourism in the Jammu division.

The Conference is organised by Italian MP Gianni Vernetti's organisation, Alliance of Democrats and will be held for two days from 10 to 11 November.

The conference will be attended by various people from all walks of life including political leaders, democratic activists, policy makers and intellectuals.

Since last year when the campaign was launched by the Association France-Tibet, 43 towns and municipalities, four of them in the last month alone, have agreed to adopt a Tibet village or town as a gesture of their support to the peaceful struggle of the Tibetan people as well as to help preserve the identity of the Tibetan places, which is undergoing systematic assimilation and sinisization in Tibet, according to the campaigners.

In Bougtheroulde, it is the Association Tibet-Normandie, a local Tibet support group, which had pushed for this successful bid in the local municipality council.

The ceremony was addressed by the Mayor Mr. Questel, National Assembly Deputy Mr. Loncle, President of Tibet-Normandie Mr. Thiery Huyghe and Secretary of Bureau du Tibet, Paris.