The Kashag the Cabinet of The Government-in-exile today expressed its sadness to hear the news about the passing away of Ngabo Ngawang Jigme, the former minister of the Tibetan government in Tibet. The Kashag remembers his life-long contributions and mourns his demise.
Kasur Ngapo, passed away in Beijing on December 23. He was 99. The Xinhua news agency said on Wednesday.
Ngabo Ngawang Jigme is most well known for being the leader of the Tibetan delegation that was sent to China in 1951 to negotiate with the Chinese government. This meeting resulted in the controversial 17-Point Agreement that set the parameters for relationship between the Tibetan and Chinese governments and also defined the status of Tibet.
After the March 10, 1959 Tibetan National Uprising and the flight of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to India, Kasur Ngapo opted to stay back and to work with the Chinese government. He subsequently served in various capacities in the Tibet Autonomous Region as well as at the national level in Beijing. He had been living in Beijing since 1991.
Along with the 10th Panchen Lama, Kasur Ngapo was involved in the establishment of the Tibet Development Fund to implement developmental projects in Tibetan areas.
In the 1980s the Tibetan fact-finding delegations as well as the high level exploratory delegations sent by the Dalai Lama met with Kasur Ngapo in Beijing and received frank suggestions on the future of Tibetan-Chinese relationship. The envoys of His Holiness the Dalai Lama that visited Beijing in 2002 also met with Kasur Ngapo.
Information for this report was provided by Tibetnet and ICT.