Greta Thunberg meets her 'role model' Malala Yousafzai at Oxford university

London: Swedish teen climate change campaigner Greta Thunberg has met Pakistani rights activist Malala Yousafzai during a visit to the prestigious Oxford University, generating buzz in social media.

Thunberg, 17, made the trip to Lady Margaret Hall where she met the 22-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate on Tuesday, the BBC reported.

Thunberg is set to join a school strike in Bristol this week while Yousafzai is studying Politics, Philosophy and Economics at the University of Oxford.

Yousafzai posted a picture of the two young activists on Instagram, saying simply: "Thank you @gretathunberg".

"She's the only friend I'd skip school for," she said on Twitter.

Also posting on social media, Thunberg said: "So today I met my role model. What else can I say?" It is not known what the pair discussed, the report said.

According to Alan Rusbridger, the principal of Lady Margaret Hall, Thunberg spoke to students about "science, voting, the limits of protest, divestment, real zero v net zero, and much more" during her visit.

Commenting on the meeting between Thunberg and Yousafzai, Jennifer Cassidy, a lecturer in politics at the University of Oxford, wrote: "I walk out my door, up to one street and see @Malala and @GretaThunberg talking outside.

"Two powerful young women standing for justice, truth, and equality for all," Cassidy tweeted.

Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan said: "What a photo. The two most influential young women of my lifetime meet in Oxford."

But some others were less complimentary, describing the pair as "overrated", the BBC report said.

Twitter user Luis Hulyer said: "One risked her life to go to school, the other plays truant."

Two years ago, Thunberg started missing lessons most Fridays to protest outside the Swedish Parliament building, in what turned out to be the beginning of a huge environmental movement.

She has become a leading voice for action on climate change, inspiring millions of students to join protests around the world.

Thunberg has been named Time magazine's Person of the Year for 2019.

In 2012, Yousafzai was shot in the head, neck and shoulder by a Taliban militant while returning home from school.

She angered the Taliban by writing an anonymous diary about life under the extremists in the picturesque Swat Valley in Pakistan.

After recovering from her near-fatal injuries, she and her family relocated to Birmingham.

In 2014, Yousafzai became the youngest person ever to win the Nobel Peace Prize, at the age of 17.

Three years later she accepted a place to study at Oxford.