US Ambassador Sergio Gor visits Srinagar with J&K CM Omar

NEW DELHI: US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor met Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah in Srinagar on Wednesday, his first visit to the region since taking office. Gor said that Washington would reconsider its travel advisories for the Union Territory.“It’s a pleasure to be here. This is an important part of India. I am here, visiting for the first time. It is an incredibly beautiful place. I am thrilled to be here,” Gor told reporters after the meeting.“We just had a very good meeting. We have some follow-ups, so we hope to take back to Washington, back to Delhi. But a very warm, a very cordial and we look forward to building this relationship forward,” he said.Gor said the US would reconsider its advisories on travel to Jammu and Kashmir, which have historically cautioned American citizens against visiting the region.“The United States puts out travel warnings and every so often, we re-evaluate those travel warnings. I cannot make any big announcements here today, but it is something we are going to look at.“New Delhi, the chief minister here, the government here, we believe have made some incredible steps to keeping this area safer and making it more safe,” Gor said at a joint media briefing with Abdullah.“So, we will be looking at if the travel warning that is imposed and recommended by the United States is something that should be downgraded because, as I said earlier, this is a beautiful area. I think a lot of Americans would enjoy coming here and seeing the beauty and the opportunities that exist here,” the US envoy added.In a post on X, he said he appreciated the opportunity to meet Abdullah and learn more about his priorities.“We discussed ways to deepen economic collaboration and create opportunities that would mutually benefit both of our nations,” Gor wrote.CM Abdullah described the meeting as “very good”, saying the discussions focused on what the US could do for Jammu and Kashmir.“As Ambassador Gor has said, it was a very good meeting. We had an opportunity to discuss the issues that we have, with a specific focus on what the US can do with Jammu and Kashmir,” Abdullah said.He added that there were “certain legacy issues” that they will be working on to resolve, while expressing hope that engagement between the US and J&K would move further.

“This is a conversation that will take place both between Ambassador Gor and Washington, and between me and the Govt of India in New Delhi. But we are very hopeful and optimistic that the engagement between the US and J&K will both widen and deepen in the years ahead.”, Abdullah added.The visit is seen as a significant diplomatic engagement, with the US envoy meeting the chief minister of a region that has been at the centre of India-Pakistan tensions. It also signals a potential shift in Washington’s approach to travel advisories for the Union Territory.