CNN

Sen. John McCain is expected to meet with the Dalai Lama Friday.

(CNN)—Presumptive Republican nominee John McCain is set to meet with the Dalai Lama Friday in Colorado.

The Tibetan political and spiritual leader will be a keynote speaker at a three-day seminar at the Aspen Institute as part of a greater celebration of Tibetan Culture where he will also meet with McCain. McCain is expected to speak at the American GI Convention in Denver Friday morning, and will make the trip to Aspen to meet with the Dalai Lama later in the afternoon.

Often referred to as “His Holiness,” the Dalai Lama has lived in exile in Dharamsala, India since the Chinese occupied Tibet in 1959.

In April, McCain urged China to engage the spiritual leader in discussions on the future of Tibet.

"Our relationship with China is important,” the Arizona senator said in a statement. “But the Chinese government needs to understand that in our modern world, how a nation treats its citizens is a legitimate subject of international concern... I urge the government of the People's Republic of China to address the root causes of unrest in Tibet by opening a genuine dialogue with His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, aimed at granting greater autonomy.”