Washington: The US Senate confirmed Sergio Gor on Tuesday as the next US Ambassador to India and Paul Kapur as Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia. Both key diplomatic positions have been vacant since the Trump administration took office in January this year.
The confirmation took place after a lengthy political battle, which saw Donald Trump’s Republican Party push through 107 diplomatic nominees in a single bloc confirmation. The Senate voted to confirm the nominees by a 51-47 vote, with the Democratic Party voting against the measure.
Gor, a 39-year old political operative, is understood to be a close ally of President Trump. He served as the director of the influential White House Presidential Personnel Office, which selects hundreds of appointees to crucial positions within the U.S. government. Kapur, who will take over as the State Department’s top official on South and Central Asia, was a professor at the US Naval Postgraduate School before this assignment. Kapur has written several books on India, Pakistan, terrorism and conflict.
“I expect that Delhi will be relieved that the appointments have been confirmed, and are hopeful that there will be more clarity coming out of the White House both about who is leading on US-India as well as what the priorities are. Clarity will be important for the relationship, as the next 12 months will put the relationship under substantial stress testing,” says Nick Shafer, an independent scholar covering South Asia and the US-India relationship.
{{/usCountry}}“I expect that Delhi will be relieved that the appointments have been confirmed, and are hopeful that there will be more clarity coming out of the White House both about who is leading on US-India as well as what the priorities are. Clarity will be important for the relationship, as the next 12 months will put the relationship under substantial stress testing,” says Nick Shafer, an independent scholar covering South Asia and the US-India relationship.
{{/usCountry}}Gor and Kapur will have to handle a relationship that has faced strains over trade and Washington’s 50% tariff on India, including a 25% penalty for purchasing Russian energy. During August, the relationship faced significant difficulty with US President Donald Trump and senior members of his administration publicly criticising India for its policies on trade and Russia. While tensions have eased in recent weeks, New Delhi has also been concerned by the Trump administration’s closeness to Pakistan.
“I’m still worried that having a quiet and more amicable relationship does not mean having a positive one. While the confirmations are a good sign of the direction of the relationship and perhaps a push to address some of the primary issues like trade, there is little signal in this administration that they will continue to propose the Indian strategic alignment (especially in defense and manufacturing, or completing technology transfers) in the same way the Biden Administration did,” Shafer adds.