Our Bureau
Srinagar
US Ambassador Sergio Gor on Wednesday called Jammu and Kashmir an “important part of India” after meeting Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in Srinagar during the first standalone visit by the US envoy to the Union Territory since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 and the Pakistan-backed terror attack in Pahalgam in 2025.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Gor, commended the security efforts made by the union territory administration and Centre to make Jammu and Kashmir more safe, and signalled a potential shift in Washington’s stance by indicating that the US may re-evaluate and “downgrade” its highest-level travel warning for J&K.
“This is an important part of India and so I’m here visiting for the first time. It’s an incredibly beautiful place, and so I’m thrilled to be here, thrilled to see this place. We had a very good meeting, and we have some follow-ups that we’ll take back to Washington, back to Delhi. But, a very warm, very cordial, and we look forward to building this relationship forward,” he said.
The US envoy said some “incredible steps” have been taken to keep the Jammu and Kashmir “more safe” and the US will review travel advisory. Notably, at present the US has a Level 4 “do not travel” advisory for its citizens.
“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 that 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.
“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 added.
Following the engagement, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah took to social media platform X to express his appreciation for the meeting, emphasising discussions around key economic sectors.
“It was a pleasure to receive @USAmbIndia Sergio Gor in Srinagar today. We had a very good conversation about the possibilities that exist to widen & deepen the engagement between J&K & the United States of America, particularly in areas like tourism, horticulture & the new economy. I look forward to continuing this engagement & taking our conversation forward,” the CM wrote.
Reiterating the mutual desire for stronger ties, Ambassador Gor also posted on X, “Appreciated the opportunity to meet with Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister @OmarAbdullah and to learn more about his priorities. We discussed ways to deepen economic collaboration and create opportunities that would mutually benefit both of our nations.”
Meanwhile, Foreign affairs expert and Senior Fellow, South Asia at the Atlantic Council, Michael Kugelman said on Wednesday that while US Ambassador Sergio Gor’s visit to Jammu-Kashmir today and him recognising the region as an “important part of India” would provide a “much-needed boost” to New Delhi, it would create an unexpected rift in US-Pakistan relations.
Analysing the diplomatic fallout from the envoy’s Srinagar trip, Kugelman noted that while the engagement provides a welcome momentum to India-US relations, it is likely to meet strong resistance in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
“At a moment when US-Pakistan relations have really been sailing along, the comments that the US Ambassador made in Kashmir will not go down well in Islamabad or Rawalpindi,” Kugelman stated. “So I think that this is a bit of an unexpected bump for US-Pakistan relations.”
Highlighting the contrasting impact on Washington’s regional partners, Kugelman pointed out that the ambassador’s statement, including calling Kashmir an important part of India and suggesting a potential downgrade of the US travel advisory, serves as a major positive signal for New Delhi.
“Certainly the US-India relationship is in need of a boost. And the fact that Gor went to Kashmir and also the fact that he said the US would look at easing the travel advisory, and indeed… his comments taken literally that Kashmir is an important part of India… that’s something that clearly would be received well in New Delhi.” So I think that at a moment when the relationship can benefit from a boost, I think it’s gotten one,” he stated.
However, Kugelman urged caution regarding whether the remarks signal a formal realignment of Washington’s foreign policy stance on the Kashmir issue.