The 14th Dalai Lama, who is the highest spiritual leader of Tibetans, will come to Sikkim next month on a five-day trip, said an official release issued by the Himalayan state on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, P.S. Tamang (Golay), the chief minister of Sikkim, convened a meeting in Mintokgang — his official residence in the state capital of Gangtok — to discuss the visit of the Dalai Lama.

“The Dalai Lama will reach Sikkim on October 10 and will return on October 14. Ever since we formed the government in 2019, it has been our continued effort to extend an invitation to His Holiness to visit Sikkim and seek his blessings. Finally, our effort is seeing fruition this year. So, we should leave no stone unturned in making the visit (of the Dalai Lama) a historic and memorable one,” Tamang said in a statement.

In April this year, the Sikkim chief minister met the Dalai Lama in Delhi.

To make arrangements for the Dalai Lama's visit, a number of committees have been formed. The principal committee would be headed by Tamang as the chief patron.

The state minister of the ecclesiastical department will be the patron while the chief secretary will chair the committee.

Sikkim, which nestles in the mountains at the India-China border, has a Buddhist population of around 28 per cent. Also, hundreds of Tibetans live in the Himalayan state.

In 2013, the Dalai Lama visited north Bengal and attended a number of events during his visit, said sources.