United States Ambassador to India and Special Envoy to South and Central Asia, Sergio Gor met Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday during his landmark visit to the Union Territory, marking the first trip by a US envoy to Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370.
The visit is significant as it is the first meeting between a serving US ambassador and a sitting Jammu and Kashmir chief minister in more than 15 years.
Following his meeting with Omar Abdullah, Gor said the discussions focused on the chief minister’s priorities for Kashmir and ways to strengthen economic cooperation between India and the United States. After he met with CM Omar Abdullah, Gor said, “It’s a pleasure to be here…This is an important part of India. It is an incredibly beautiful place” “We discussed ways to deepen economic collaboration and create opportunities that would mutually benefit both of our nations,” Gor said in a post on X. After his meeting with the J&K Chief Minister, Gor said that the US is reviewing its travel advisory for J&K, citing significant steps taken by the government to improve safety. This is a beautiful area, I think a lot of Americans would enjoy coming here and seeing the beauty and opportunity that exists here,” said Gor, quoted news agency ANI. The chief minister said he did not intend to raise complaints about Kashmir with the US envoy and reiterated that the Centre, rather than Washington, would have to address the region’s issues.
I am here, visiting for the first time. “The United States puts out travel warnings and every so often we re-evaluate those travel warnings. New Delhi, the Chief Minister here, the Govt here, we believe have made some incredible steps to keeping this area safer and making it more safe. So, we will be looking at if the travel warning that is imposed, that is recommended by the United States is something that should be downgraded.
I cannot make any big announcements here today but it is something that we are going to look at.
