Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday said he was ready to meet US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor during his visit to Kashmir. He stressed that issues related to the Union Territory are an internal matter and should be dealt with by the government here.
Speaking about the ambassador’s visit, Omar said it was notable that a US envoy was coming to Jammu and Kashmir after a long gap. He said he would meet Gor and was interested in hearing his views.
However, Abdullah made it clear that he did not expect any foreign country to have a role in dealing with Jammu and Kashmir’s local issues.
“Our problems are not his concern. I do not make a habit of taking our problems to the ambassador of another country. These issues will not be solved by Washington but by our own government. I will speak to him about Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
Omar also spoke about waterlogging reported in parts of Srinagar. He said the problem had existed for years and that the administration was now working to address gaps in the city’s drainage system.
“Waterlogging in parts of Srinagar is a legacy issue. It was not created in the last two years or even the last five years. We do not know who allowed colonies to come up without proper drainage. We are now trying to build drainage systems in these areas. We have identified the problem spots and arrange additional pumps whenever the Meteorological Department issues a warning,” he said.
Meanwhile, US Ambassador Sergio Gor on Tuesday called for a more stable business environment to strengthen trade and investment ties between India and the US. He stressed the need for predictable taxes, clear regulations, stronger intellectual property protection and greater trust over export controls and technology transfers.
“We need predictable taxation and regulatory frameworks that allow business to thrive,” Gor said. He also called for open and trust-based discussions on export controls and technology flows, along with strong intellectual property safeguards to give businesses confidence to invest and expand.
Gor said companies in both countries had played an important role in expanding commercial ties. He also pointed to growing cooperation in areas such as artificial intelligence, technology, aerospace, defence and energy.
He said US President Donald Trump had given considerable importance to ties with India. Gor noted that Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a trust initiative early in Trump's second term to strengthen cooperation in strategic technologies.
According to Gor, the initiative is focused on speeding up joint work in areas such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, semiconductors, defence and critical minerals. Gor also pointed to India's growing importance in the global technology sector. He noted that New Delhi hosted the Global AI Summit during his first few months as ambassador.
He said the strong presence of US companies at the summit showed India's growing role as a key “crossroads” for global technology cooperation.
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