US diplomatic team met Farooq Abdullah ahead of Sergio Gor’s JK visit on Tuesday

Srinagar: A team of US diplomats arrived in Srinagar ahead of Ambassador Sergio Gor’s scheduled visit to Jammu and Kashmir and held a meeting with National Conference president and former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah on Tuesday.

The delegation from the US Embassy in New Delhi included Ian Michael Dick, Gary Applegarth, Lisa Grace Alkins and Hemant Joshi. The officials reached the Valley ahead of the Ambassador as part of preparations for his first visit to J&K.

According to sources cited by Greater Kashmir, discussions during the meeting centred on Gor’s planned interaction with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.

Gor, who is also the US Special Envoy for South and Central Asia, is scheduled to reach Srinagar on Wednesday afternoon. During his stay, he is expected to meet both Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.

The US envoy is scheduled to stay overnight in Srinagar before travelling to Ladakh on Thursday.

Gor took charge as the 27th US Ambassador to India in January this year, and his visit will be his first to Jammu and Kashmir in that capacity. It will also be the first visit to JK by a serving US Ambassador since the erstwhile state was reorganised as a Union Territory in 2019.

An advance team from the Ambassador’s office has already reached Srinagar to oversee arrangements related to the visit, including logistics and security.

Gor has recently held high-level discussions with Home Minister Amit Shah on matters including counter-terrorism and counter-narcotics.