Lobsang Sangay, who has been elected as Prime Minister of the Tibetan Government in exile, has said that the decision of the Dalai Lama to transfer political powers needs to be respected.
"The Dalai Lama has decided to transfer political power to the Tibetan people by entrusting the one, whom they have magnanimously chosen as the head of their exile government," Sangay said in an interview to the Tibetan service of Radio Free Asia.
"We must respect the wishes and wisdom of His Holiness and find ways to implement his decision," he said in his first ever interview after he was declared elected the Prime Minister of the Tibetan Government in exile.
The 43-year-old Havard law researcher won 55 per cent of the vote in March 20 Election held around the world, defeating two candidates, Tenzin Namgyal Tethong and Tashi Wangdu.
Sangay would relocate in May to Dharamsala, the seat of the Tibetan government-in-exile, to establish his cabinet before the current office holder; Samdhong Rinpoche steps down on August 14.
Many expect Sangay would play a more visible role, as the Dalai Lama this year announced his intention of stepping down as political leader of the Tibetan exile community.
He also said that the 76-year-old Dalai Lama would return during his lifetime to the homeland he fled five decades ago.
The newly elected Prime Minister also vowed to reach out to China and pursue the Dalai Lama's stated desire for greater autonomy for Tibetans within China.
Asking Beijing to review its "hard-line" Tibet policy and take a "more moderate and liberal approach, he said if China wanted to become a new world superpower, it could not do so through economic or military might, but would need to exercise moral authority in how it treats people.