New Delhi: Sergio Gor, who arrived in India last Friday, officially started his tenure as US Ambassador to New Delhi Wednesday, after presenting his credentials to President Droupadi Murmu.
Announcing these developments, the President’s office said in a statement on X: “President Droupadi Murmu received credentials from Mr Chandradath Singh, High Commissioner of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago; Dr Robert Zischg, Ambassador of the Republic of Austria; and Mr Sergio Gor, Ambassador of the United States of America, at Rashtrapati Bhavan.”
Eric Garcetti, appointed by former President Joe Biden, stepped down from the ambassadorial post on 19 January 2025, following the change in the US administration, with the post remaining vacant for nearly a year until Sergio Gor’s arrival.
India’s new US Ambassador stated, “It is an honour to present my credentials to Indian President Murmu and to serve in India at a time of such promise and opportunity in the U.S.-India relationship. I look forward to working closely with the Government of India and the Indian people to advance our shared priorities in defence, trade, technology, and critical minerals, and further strengthen the partnership between our two great democracies.”
Two days ago, Sergio Gor addressed the media and the staff at a welcome ceremony for him at the US Embassy in the Capital, underlining that he would help take forward the most “significant” ties of this century.
His Monday address was one-of-a-kind because ambassador-designates normally do not address the media till they present their credentials to the President.
Not only this, but other moments also stood out Monday.
Gor made his entry at the US embassy in a black BMW, with blinking red-and-blue lights, amid major fanfare. Cheering his arrival, the staff received him at the steps of the building, with a placard reading ‘Hold On I’m Comin Over’, the 1966 classical soul song by Sam and Dave. This welcome ceremony ended with Gor’s address.
The Ambassador-designate, at the time, Gor did not take much time to announce a US invitation to India to join Pax Silica, the US-led supply chains resilience initiative established last month with Israel, the UK, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Australia, and the Netherlands.
Qatar signed the Pax Silica declaration Tuesday, becoming the latest country to sign onto the US initiative to create sustainable supply chains.
On India-US relations, Gor said that real friends might have disagreements, but work together to resolve their differences, while ‘Y.M.C.A’ by the Village People played in the background.
The song—heard at several rallies of President Donald Trump, who even has a signature move to go with it—signalled the arrival of Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ brand of diplomacy to India.
Gor previously served as the director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office from January to October 2025 and is considered close to President Trump.
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Jaishankar-Rubio call
On Tuesday, Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar spoke with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to discuss trade, defence, and energy. The two countries have engaged in discussions across these sectors as part of their ongoing efforts to strengthen US-India ties.
“Just concluded a good conversation with@SecRubio. Discussed trade, critical minerals, nuclear cooperation, defence and energy. Agreed to remain in touch on these and other issues,” Jaishankar said about the issues discussed with Rubio after the talks.
In a readout regarding the call, the US State Department said that the leaders discussed “ongoing bilateral trade agreement negotiations” and their shared interests in “strengthening economic cooperation”.
“The secretary congratulated India on enacting the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India bill. He expressed interest in capitalising on this important development to enhance US-India civil nuclear cooperation, expand opportunities for American companies, advance shared energy security goals, and secure critical mineral supply chains,” according to the US State Department readout.
The US has imposed a 50 percent tariff on India, effective since August 2025. On Monday, Trump announced a further 25 percent tariff as a penalty on countries that trade with Iran. So far, it is unclear if India is on this list or not.
Government sources said Tuesday that the tariffs against Iran were “likely to have minimal impact on India”, due to the low trade volumes between New Delhi and Tehran.
India’s total trade with Iran was roughly $1.6 billion in the 2024-2025 financial year. Officials say India purchases little to no oil from Tehran, following the imposition of US sanctions in 2019.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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