US envoy concludes Ladakh visit, misses Dalai Lama meeting

A strongly anticipated meeting between the US ambassador to India, Sergio Gor, and Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, in the Union Territory of Ladakh did not take place after all. The Dalai Lama has been sojourning in Ladakh since Jun 28 for an extended summer stay while Gor arrived there on Aug 20 after high-profile engagements in neighbouring Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). Gor’s visit was the first by a top US envoy to this strategic frontier region of India since the 2020 Galwan clashes and subsequent border standoff with China.

While in J&K, Gor, speaking to reporters alongside Chief Minister Omar Abdullah following their high-level dialogue, remarked, “Kashmir is an important part of India. I am visiting the place for the first time. It is an incredibly beautiful place.”

Gor concluded his visit to J&K and Ladakh on Aug 21, after visiting the centuries-old, 12-storeyed Thiksey Monastery, one of the largest and most prominent monasteries in central Ladakh, located about 19km from capital Leh. The monastery is widely noted for its resemblance to the Potala Palace in Tibet’s capital Lhasa.

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