US Ambassador to India, Sergio Gor, who is also President Donald Trump's Special Envoy for South and Central Asian Affairs, landed in Kyrgyz capital and held meetings with the presidents of Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan.
For records, Gor said he was to cheer up the US team for the Nomad Games. In fact, the 'games; provided an opening for business diplomacy in a region that was once part of Russia's sphere and is now seeing an expansion of Chinese influence.
The US Ambassador to India 'suddenly' appeared in Bishkek on Monday surprising many.
The presence of the Donald Trump-appointed diplomat in Bishkek, even as leaders of the China-Russia-led Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) gathered there, has left many wondering if it was just a coincidence.
Gor said he was there with Republican Senator Steve Daines to support the American contingent at the World Nomad Games, being held simultaneously in Bishkek.
Apart from serving as the US Ambassador to India, Gor is also President Donald Trump's Special Envoy for South and Central Asian Affairs. Therefore, he was well within his remit or diplomatic range in travelling to one of the Central Asian republics.
However, it is equally important to look at Senator Daines's presence and the policies he has advocated for years.
It is also great optics by President Trump. He has sent his close aide a city packed with global leaders from the rival camp, including from Iran, Russia and China.
The organisations such as SCO, BRICS and RIC at times do not go well with the US administration.
While there's no evidence that Gor attended Bishkek during the SCO summit to undermine it, his choice of back-to-back meetings and Daines's long-standing interest in Central Asia may suggest something else.
At least, it was not just a sport.
Another thing to note here is that Sergio Gor was born Sergey Gorokhovsky in Tashkent (then part of Soviet Uzbekistan) in 1986.
His family reportedly left Uzbekistan for Malta in 1994, when he was about seven, and moved to Los Angeles in 1999, according to US think tank OCCRP.
He is also reported to be fluent in Russian, a language still widely spoken across the former Soviet republics of Central Asia.
Interestingly, Daines, a Republican Senator, wore a cowboy hat in the photo Gor shared. Reposting the same image, Daines said, "Great time with US Ambassador India cheering on Team USA!"
The sixth World Nomad Games, featuring traditional sports such as horseback, archery and wrestling, drew athletes from 104 countries. But the Games were not taking place in an ordinary setting.
The opening ceremony of the World Nomad Games coincided with the two-day SCO summit, which began in Bishkek on August 31.
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