Washington, Oct 10 (IANS) Sergio Gor, the new US ambassador to India, is on a 4-day visit to the country from October 9-14.

The US State Department has issued a statement saying, “U.S. Ambassador to India Sergio Gor and Deputy Secretary for Management and Resources Michael J. Rigas will travel to India from October 9 to October 14.

Ambassador Gor and Deputy Secretary Rigas will meet with Indian government counterparts to discuss a wide range of bilateral issues. The United States will continue to work with India to strengthen our strategic partnership and promote a safer, stronger, and more prosperous Indo-Pacific region.”

Gor, who was confirmed by the Senate on October 7, attended an event at the Indian Embassy in Washington, DC on Thursday and announced that he would be travelling to India to meet Indian officials.

The 38-year-old Gor is 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.

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.

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.”

–IANS

scor/dan