'Name on letterhead doesn’t matter': US envoy Gor on Indo-Pacific Command renaming row

NEW DELHI: United States ambassador to India Sergio Gor on Tuesday rejected row over renaming of the Indo-Pacific Command and said that "name on the letterhead" does not matter.While addressing the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum Leadership summit, Gor said India still conducts more military exercises with the US than any other country and has regular bilateral visits of defence officials."I just want to mention something because a lot of individuals made hay over a name change. I don't care what name is on a letterhead, but look at what the United States is actually doing," Gor said."Yes, the name changed; we're still there. India still has more exercises with the United States than any other country by far. Every single month there's something happening, whether it's Indian troops coming here or whether it's US troops going into the region," he added.Gor’s remarks came in the wake of a row over dropping ‘Indo’ from the Indo-Pacific Command. Established in 1947, the US Pacific Command is among the oldest unified commands of the US that extends from the west coast of the US to India’s western border.During US President Donald Trump’s first term, the Pacific Command was renamed as Indo-Pacific Command, citing the growing importance of India in the Indo-Pacific region. Earlier, this month the US restored the original name of the unified command.Gor also rejected suggestions that bilateral ties had weakened, Gor said the overall relationship remained on a strong footing."So to all those pundits that sit online and tweet and say, this relationship is in trouble, when you look at the facts of where this relationship stands, whether it's trade, whether it's defence, whether it's the people to people ties, the relationship is on strong footing," he said.Gor said President Trump attached significant importance to ties with India and remained committed to expanding cooperation across trade, technology, defence and investment.He said in the next two weeks, a delegation of the Indian Navy will be visiting the US.Get the latest India news and live updates. Download the TOI App.