Kashmir Impulse Desk
Srinagar, Aug 19
The United States will review its highest-level travel warning for Jammu and Kashmir, US Ambassador Sergio Gor said on Wednesday during a visit to the region, signalling a possible shift that could help revive international tourism in the region.
Gor, who is also US President Donald Trump’s special envoy for South and Central Asia, said Washington would examine whether its recommendation against travel to much of Jammu and Kashmir should be downgraded, although he stopped short of announcing any immediate change.
The comments came after Gor met Chief Minister Omar Abdullah at his Gupkar residence in Srinagar during his first standalone visit to J&K by a serving US ambassador since 2019.
“As everybody here knows, I am the US ambassador to India. And this is an important part of India,” Gor told reporters alongside Abdullah. “So I’m here visiting for the first time. It is an incredibly beautiful place, and I am thrilled to be here.”
Gor’s two-day trip to Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh is also the first standalone visit by a serving US ambassador to the region since India scrapped the special constitutional status of J&K in 2019 and reorganised the former state into two centrally administered union territories.
It is also the first such visit since an April 2025 attack in Pahalgam in which 26 tourists were killed, followed by a military operation, Operation Sindoor.
The last meeting between a serving US ambassador and a sitting J&K chief minister was in 2011, when Timothy Roemer met Abdullah.
The last standalone visit by a US envoy was made by Kenneth Juster in 2018.
Gor said his meeting with Abdullah had been “very warm” and “very cordial”.
In a post on X, he said the two had discussed ways to deepen economic cooperation and create opportunities beneficial to both countries.
The travel advisory emerged as one of the most closely watched issues surrounding the visit.
The US State Department currently maintains a Level 4 “do not travel” advisory for J&K, excluding eastern Ladakh and Leh, citing terrorism and civil unrest.
The warning has been a longstanding concern for the administration in Srinagar as it seeks to attract foreign visitors and strengthen tourism.
“I cannot make any big announcements here today, but it is something we are going to look at,” Gor said about a possible downgrade.
He credited the central government, Abdullah, and the J&K administration with taking what he described as “incredible steps” to make the region safer.
“So we will be looking at whether the travel warning that is recommended by the United States is something that should be downgraded,” Gor said. “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.”
No formal change to the advisory was announced on Wednesday.
Officials said any revision would have to go through the normal review process in Washington.
The visit had drawn political attention in Srinagar even before Gor’s arrival.
A team of US diplomats from the embassy in New Delhi met National Conference President Farooq Abdullah a day earlier as part of preparations for the trip.
Kashmir’s chief cleric, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, welcomed Gor’s arrival and expressed hope that the ambassador would engage with a broad cross-section of people.
Former J&K chief minister and People’s Democratic Party President Mehbooba Mufti separately urged Gor to withdraw the travel warning, saying it affected families dependent on tourism.
Gor’s visit comes against the backdrop of closer strategic ties between India and the United States, including cooperation in defence and intelligence, while relations in the wider region have also been shaped by earlier tensions along the Line of Actual Control.
His scheduled visit to Ladakh on Thursday will carry additional significance, as it will be the first visit there by a serving US ambassador since the 2020 Galwan Valley clashes.
After he met with Abdullah, Gor travelled to Dal Lake and took a shikara ride, officials said.
He boarded the traditional boat near Nehru Park and spent about an hour on the lake, accompanied by security personnel and officials from the US embassy.
Gor is due to travel to Leh on Thursday and return to New Delhi on Saturday, according to sources.
Ladakh Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena was in New Delhi and was expected to return by Friday.
The Ladakh leg will complete a high-profile regional tour that Washington will closely watch for its implications for diplomatic engagement, tourism, and broader India-US relations.
