The Tibetan government-in-exile says it’s grateful to President Obama for inviting the Dalai Lama to the White House. At a press conference on Friday, a Tibetan official commended the meeting.

"I think they (Obama and Dalai Lama) had a very good meeting and obviously the president has expressed very strong support for human rights, and for the importance of preserving our culture, religion and way of life, and I think he also had expressed the importance of continuing the dialogue with China regarding the situation in Tibet, and he also commented on His Holiness' approach of the middle way and the non-violent efforts."

Obama hosted a meeting with the Dalai Lama at the White House on Thursday, drawing an angry reaction from the Chinese communist regime.

Obama used his first presidential meeting with the Dalai Lama to press the Chinese communist regime to preserve the Tibetan identity and respect human rights.

Some say that the meeting will lead to some positive effects in the future.

[Tenzin Norgey, Spokesperson, Tibetan Ctr. for Human Rights and Democracy]:
"It definitely instills a lot of hope and gives lot of sustainability of the faith in the long run.”

After the 70-minute meeting, the White House said Obama quote "commended the Dalai Lama's ... commitment to non-violence."