4 min readSrinagarUpdated: Aug 20, 2026 03:21 AM IST
In a strong endorsement of New Delhi’s long-standing position on Jammu & Kashmir, US Ambassador Sergio Gor, who was in Srinagar Wednesday on his maiden visit to the Valley, described J&K as “an important part of India” and signalled that Washington would review the situation in the Union Territory to downgrade and ease travel warnings for US citizens.
Gor met Chief Minister Omar Abdullah at his Gupkar Road residence, marking the first standalone visit to the Valley by a serving US Ambassador since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019. In January 2020, Kenneth Juster, the then Ambassador, had visited the Valley as part of a government-facilitated delegation of foreign envoys.
Stating that he was “thrilled” to be in the Valley, Gor said, “This is an important part of India. I am here, visiting for the first time. It’s an incredibly beautiful place.”
He is expected to travel to Ladakh Thursday.
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He said he had “a very warm, very cordial” meeting with the Chief Minister. “We have some follow-ups that we hope to take back to Washington and back to Delhi. We look forward to building this relationship.”
He said the US 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 in keeping this area safer, and making it more safe,” Gor said. “So, we will be looking at if the travel warning that is imposed… is something that should be downgraded. This is a beautiful area, I think a lot of Americans would enjoy coming here and seeing the beauty and opportunity that exists here,” he said.
The current US advisory on J&K, citing concerns over terrorism and unrest, urges its citizens not to travel to this area “except for visits to the eastern Ladakh region and its capital, Leh”.
Abdullah said Gor and he had a “very good meeting,” and discussed the relations between the two countries “but with specific focus on what the US can do with Jammu and Kashmir”.
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“There are obviously certain legacy issues that over time we will be working to resolve,” he said.
“We look forward to taking this conversation further. This is a conversation that will take place both between Ambassador Gor and Washington and between me and the Government of India in New Delhi. We are very hopeful and optimistic that the engagement between the US and J&K will both widen and deepen in the years ahead,” he said.
Later, in a post on X, Gor said they “discussed ways to deepen economic collaboration and create opportunities that would mutually benefit both of our nations”.
Abdullah too put out a post, saying they had “a very good conversation about the possibilities that exist to widen and deepen the engagement” between J&K and the US, “particularly in areas like tourism, horticulture and the new economy”.
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Earlier in the day, Abdullah had said that J&K’s matters were not going to be resolved in Washington, but by the Government of India.
