India, Jan. 12 -- Sergio Gor, who formally took charge as the new US ambassador to India and a special envoy to South and Central Asia on Monday, sought to amp up the ties between the two nations from his first day in the office, by emphasising that the friendship between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump is "very real". No partner of the US is "more essential" than India, he said.

Gor, who is succeeding Eric Garcetti, said in his first address: "I come to this remarkable nation with profound respect and a clear mission to take the partnership between our two great nations to the next level. This is the intersection of the world's oldest democracy and the world's largest democracy."

Throughout his speech, Gor made ...