Trump’s aide Sergio Gor confirmed as Ambassador to India

Washington: Sergio Gor, President Donald Trump’s nominee for US Ambassador to India, was confirmed by a Senate vote on Tuesday (US time).

Gor was part of the 107 nominees confirmed via a vote that passed along party lines. The 38-year-old Gor will be the youngest US ambassador to India. He is one of the closest aides of Trump and was the Director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office, entrusted with vetting more than 4,000 posts in the new Trump administration.

In August, Trump announced his nomination on Truth Social. “For the most populous Region in the World, it is important that I have someone I can fully trust to deliver on my Agenda and help us, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. Sergio will make an incredible Ambassador,” Trump posted on August 22.

Trump had also announced that Gor would also serve as a special envoy for South and Central Asian affairs.

In September, Gor, during his Senate confirmation hearing, had called India a “strategic partner whose trajectory will shape the region and beyond.”

“India’s geographic position, economic growth and military capabilities make it a cornerstone of regional stability and a critical part of promoting prosperity and advancing the security interests that our nations share. India is one of the most important relationships our nation has in the world. I will work to deliver on a presidential agenda and advance US interests by increasing our defence cooperation, ensuring fair and beneficial trade deepening, energy security and furthering technology,” he added.

He also spoke about strengthening defence ties with India.

“I will prioritise deepening defence and security cooperation with India. This includes expanding joint military exercises, advancing co-development and co-production of defence systems and concluding critical defence sales,” he noted.

Gor also highlighted India’s demographic dividend, terming India’s population of 1.4 billion people and “its rapidly growing middle class” offer “immense opportunities for America, from artificial intelligence to pharmaceuticals to critical minerals, the potential for collaboration is vast.”

He had also recently met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

After the meeting, the US State Department Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs said that both leaders “look forward to further promoting the success of the US-India relationship.”

Gor is also a close aide of Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr. and accompanied him to Greenland in January in the administration’s bid to drum up support for the US acquisition of Danish territory.

–IANS