The United States (US) Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs has extended birthday congratulations to His Holiness (HH) the Dalia Lama and thanked India “for hosting HH and Tibetans in freedom since 1959.” US House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, meanwhile described the Tibetan spiritual leader as “a messenger of hope”, adding that a “bond of friendship… has existed between the US, the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people for decades”.