Berlin  - German Economic Assistance Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul will meet the Dalai Lama during the Tibetan spiritual leader's upcoming visit to Germany, a government spokesman said Wednesday.

The meeting will take place in Berlin on May 19, the last day of the Dalai Lama's five-day visit that starts on Thursday, the spokesman said.

Previously no member of the government had been prepared to meet the Dalai Lama, triggering a row between the parties in Chancellor Angela Merkel's governing coalition.

Merkel is in Latin America and her deputy, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, turned down an official request for a meeting because he does not have time.

President Horst Koehler has also ruled out a meeting because of scheduling difficulties, prompting accusations that he was kowtowing to the Chinese.

Merkel met the Dalai Lama at the federal chancellery last September, a move which led to a chill in relations between Berlin and Beijing that ended only in January after intense German diplomatic efforts.

The Tibetan spiritual leader, who enjoys huge popularity in Germany, will attend a conference and speak on human rights and religion in four cities before travelling to the German capital. (dpa)