US state secretary Marco Rubio on Thursday said that India is one of the top relationships the America has in the world today, and Washington is in a period of “extraordinary transition” in its ties with Delhi. Introducing US ambassador-designate to India Sergio Gor at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Rubio said he has known Gor for a very long time and “who is the nominee to India, which is, I would say, one of the top relationships the US has in the world today, in terms of the future, what the world is going to look like.”

Last month, President Donald Trump announced that he is promoting Gor, Director of Presidential Personnel, to be the next US Ambassador to India and Special Envoy for South and Central Asian Affairs. When confirmed, the 38-year-old Gor will become the youngest American ambassador to India. Rubio said that in the 21st century, the “story is going to be written in the Indo-Pacific. In fact, it’s so important we’ve actually changed the name of the combat and command of the Indo-Pacific. India is at the core of that.” “We’ve got some really important issues coming up that we need to work with them on and work through that implicate what’s happening from Ukraine, but also implicate what’s happening in the region. It is my view, I hope it will be your view, that it is important that the United States be represented at that post with someone who has the direct ear and confidence of the President of the United States. I know of no one over the last, certainly period of time during this administration, but going back four or five years, no one who has had a better or closer working relationship than Gore,” he added.