Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri held a meeting with Venezuela’s Acting President Delcy Rodriguez in New Delhi on Thursday, underscoring the growing momentum in bilateral energy cooperation.

In his remarks, Puri announced that a technical team from India would soon travel to Venezuela to examine opportunities in the energy sector, signalling a concrete step towards expanding collaboration. 

He emphasised that India and Venezuela share unique complementarities, with Venezuela possessing the world’s largest proven oil reserves and India offering both immense demand and the technological expertise to refine Venezuelan crude in its refineries.

He noted that Venezuela had already emerged as one of the largest suppliers of crude oil to India in April and May 2026, reflecting the potential for future growth in the partnership.

Puri highlighted that Indian oil and gas companies already have investments in Venezuela and are now seeking to build upon them. He explained that Indian PSUs are keen to explore new opportunities for collaboration, which would not only strengthen bilateral ties but also contribute to India’s broader quest for energy security.

The minister’s meeting was attended by senior leadership from the Petroleum Ministry and CMDs of India’s energy sector PSUs, underlining the seriousness with which India is approaching this engagement.

On the same day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also met Acting President Rodriguez, where both leaders held extensive discussions on expanding cooperation across a wide spectrum of areas. Modi stated that energy, critical minerals, technology, agriculture, health, and people-to-people ties were central to their talks.

He stressed that Venezuela is a valued partner in Latin America and that India’s close cooperation with the country holds immense importance for the Global South. Modi reaffirmed that both nations would continue to work together for the mutual benefit of their people.

During their discussions, Modi and Rodriguez reviewed the full spectrum of bilateral relations and explored new avenues of cooperation in energy, trade, investment, healthcare, and automobiles. They also exchanged views on global and regional issues of mutual interest, reaffirming their shared commitment to deepening the partnership and advancing the interests of the Global South.

This alignment reflects India’s broader diplomatic outreach to strengthen ties with Latin American nations and diversify its energy sources.

Delcy Eloina Rodriguez Gomez is currently on a five-day visit to India, which has already seen high-level engagements with both the Prime Minister and senior ministers. India has long been an important partner of Venezuela in energy and investment, with Indian PSUs having made significant investments in the Venezuelan energy sector.

These companies are now eager to expand their presence further, recognising the strategic importance of Venezuela’s vast reserves and the opportunities for collaboration in refining and technology. The visit is expected to provide fresh impetus to the bilateral relationship, particularly in the energy domain, where complementarities between the two countries are most pronounced.

India’s engagement with Venezuela comes at a time when New Delhi is actively diversifying its energy sources to ensure long-term security and resilience. With Venezuela’s reserves and India’s refining capacity, the partnership offers a mutually beneficial pathway that could reshape energy cooperation between the two nations.

The forthcoming visit of the Indian technical team to Venezuela will be a crucial step in identifying concrete projects and investments that can take this partnership to the next level.

ANI