'Can Lead to Interference': Trump's Dual Role for Next US Envoy Sparks Debate

'Sergio Gor's dual role can lead to the US interfering in India-Pakistan ties,' says ex-Foreign Secy Kanwal Sibal.

Donald Trump (left) with US Ambassador to India-designate Sergio Gor.

(Photo Courtesy: X/Altered by The Quint) 

"This dual role for the nominee raises questions. He has been given charge of the whole region, and this role will inevitably get reflected in his diplomatic dealings with India," says former Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal while speaking to The Quint about Donald Trump's appointment of his close confidant Sergio Gor as the next US Ambassador to India as well as Special Envoy on South and Central Asian Affairs.

The dual appointment has raised several eyebrows in New Delhi. While some have expressed optimism for the appointment, given that the 38-year-old Ambassador-designate is a part of Trump's inner circle and has so-called 'walk-in privileges' with the US president, others have decried the additional role espoused by him of a Special Envoy for the region as it flames speculations about whether the US intends to intervene in India's domestic matters – particularly pertaining to Pakistan.

How will New Delhi deal with Gor's appointment? We analyse with the help of former diplomats and academics.

Advantage India

To start with, some say that Trump's appointment of a trusted aide, who has been associated with the president for years, is telling of the importance that he attaches to the relationship with India. This is all the more relevant now, since India-US ties are undergoing a tumultuous period of late, owing to the imposition of 50 percent tariffs on Indian products as well as Trump's consistent claims of having mediated a ceasefire between India and Pakistan earlier this year.

"Often those Ambassadors who have the ear of the president play an important role in times when things are not in the best shape. So from that sense, Trump's appointment of someone from his inner circle is a positive development," Harsh V Pant, professor of International Relations at King's College London, tells The Quint.

Gor, a businessman-turned political operative, has long been associated with Trump. His latest role has been to vet political appointees on the basis of their loyalty to the president. Before this, he was responsible for the functioning of a political action committee to drum up support for Trump ahead of the 2024 elections.

Others, however, state that while Gor's closeness with the president is an advantage for India on the face of it, there is a flipside to this equation which could go against New Delhi.

"It cuts both ways. You have the ear of the US president, and that's important. But what is equally important is the message that is whispered into the president's ear. So that will be up to New Delhi to see – whether the Ambassador uses his 'walk-in-privileges' with Trump to promote the India-US relationship or to harm it," Navtej Sarna, former Indian Ambassador to the US, tells The Quint.

Disadvantage India

Several former diplomats have also outrightly expressed their dismay over Gor's dual role of Ambassador and Special Envoy on South and Central Asian Affairs.

According to the White House, the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs oversees US relations with India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

"It's not clear why Gor has been selected for these two jobs. It's unprecedented, unfortunate, and disturbing," says Vivek Katju, former Secretary [West], Ministry of External Affairs, while speaking to The Quint.

While the move itself is unprecedented, a similar attempt at allegedly "hyphenating" India and Pakistan had been made by former president Barack Obama when he had planned to send career diplomat Richard Holbrooke as his Special Envoy for the entire region in 2009.

The plan, however, fell through after the then-External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee conveyed to his US counterpart that the move "smacked of interference and would be unacceptable to India," as per a Wikileaks cable. Following the pushback, Holbrook was named Special Envoy for only Afghanistan and Pakistan.

However, diplomats say that India is unlikely to follow a similar playbook vis-à-vis Gor's appointment.

"Times have changed. We can't automatically follow something from the past, knowing that it's more or less doomed to only incite Trump more. I doubt we'll be able to influence a change immediately. But over time it might be possible," says Navtej Sarna.

Regional Envoy Appointment Comes at a Sensitive Time

Gor's appointment as regional envoy also comes at a sensitive time for India as President Trump has claimed over 25 times on different public occasions that he mediated a ceasefire between India and Pakistan following Operation Sindoor in May this year. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), had, however, rejected Trump's claims, stating that the end to hostilities was achieved by DGMO (Director General of Military Operations)-level talks between India and Pakistan.

Further, Trump's extensive engagement with Pakistan's Army Chief Asim Munir had also ruffled feathers in New Delhi, including the US president's invitation to Munir for talks at the White House twice in less than two months.

"India will have concerns about this intrusive US role in the region," former Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal tells The Quint. "It can lead to the US interfering in India-Pakistan ties in line with Trump's desire to mediate between New Delhi and Islamabad on Kashmir."

Sibal further stated that the fact that Gor is close to the president would have been an asset if Trump's policies pertaining to India were reassuring. However, given the bitterness that has crept in following the imposition of tariffs, currently the opposite is true.

"Trump wants Gor to implement his agenda, which is to get his way with India through economic and political pressure. This overseeing role could also mean that the US does not want to accept India's preeminence in the region or give it a free hand to shape its political and economic equations."

Kanwal Sibal, former Foreign Secretary of India

Yet another matter of unease is that while announcing Gor as the Ambassadorial appointee, Trump did not say anything about India-US ties – as is the diplomatic norm while making an announcement as big as this.

"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 took to his Truth Social page to say on Saturday, 23 August.

He also called Gor a "great friend who has been at my side for many years".

"Trump didn't say a word about India-US ties. Nothing on the strategic relationship or even its importance. He merely spoke of Gor's appointment to the most populous region of the world. Is that the central feature of India-US ties? Curious."

Kanwal Sibal, former Foreign Secretary of India

How Has the Indian Govt Reacted to the News? 

Meanwhile, the MEA's radio silence on the matter of Gor's appointment is as telling as Trump's refusal to speak about the India-US strategic partnership. The MEA's Official Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal has not issued any comment regarding the appointment of Gor as Ambassador and Special Envoy.

When External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was asked about the appointment at an event recently, he said he had read about the news, but refused to elaborate. "Look, I am a foreign minister. I don't comment on ambassadorial appointments of other countries," Jaishankar had said.

While this has rarely happened, host countries possess the right to reject an ambassador proposed by another country. As per Article 9 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, a receiving nation state can declare an individual to be persona non grata i.e. unwelcome in the country, even without providing any reason for their rejection.

In that case, the sending country must appoint somebody else in the role or recall an ambassador who is currently posted.

Whether India does so with regard to Gor remains to be seen. However, it is unlikely as India's opposition wouldn't be so much with Gor having been appointed as Ambassador, but with him being appointed a regional envoy. And the Vienna Convention does not mention in clear terms whether any country can oppose an additional role given to an Ambassador.

Meanwhile, Gor needs to be confirmed by the US Senate before being posted to India, which means that he won't arrive in New Delhi before the end of 2025. Gor will fill the shoes of former US Ambassador Eric Garcetti, who was appointed by the then-US President Joe Biden in 2023. Garcetti's tenure ended in January this year, which has been followed by a seven-month vacancy in the post of US Ambassador to India.

"While the post of Ambassador requires Senate confirmation, that of special envoy likely requires no confirmation. So Gor could well take up the post, presumably from Washington, before his ambassadorship is confirmed," South Asia Analyst Michael Kugelman tells The Quint.

Gor was born in Tashkent under the erstwhile Soviet Union in 1986 as Sergey Gorokhovsky. His parents moved to Malta followed by the US in the 1990s, after which he became a naturalised US citizen.

An ideological conservative, Gor was president of the right-wing Young America’s Foundation at George Washington University. After working on Republican Senator Rand Paul's campaign, he became the chief of staff of the Trump Victory Finance Committee in 2020, following which he took on several roles to provide political and financial backing to the president.

In a testament to his influence over Trump, Gor had reportedly convinced the president to withdraw the nomination of Elon Musk's close aide Jared Isaacman from the race to lead NASA. The move had led the Tesla CEO to call Gor a "snake".