Energy partnership discussed between PM Modi and Venezuelan President Rodriguez!

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Venezuela’s acting President Delsey Rodriguez on Thursday discussed building an energy partnership. According to information shared by the Ministry of External Affairs, the two leaders held important talks related to business and energy.

In a special briefing regarding Rodriguez’s visit, Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs, Rudrendra Tandon said that the conversation between the two leaders was very important and business-like. He said that Venezuela has seen India as a stable demander for energy for many years.

Secretary Tandon said, “Acting President of Venezuela Delsey Rodriguez is on a working visit to India from June 3 to 6. She is accompanied by a very large ministerial delegation, which includes ministers of Foreign Affairs, Communications and Information, Economy and Finance, Science and Technology as well as Transport. This morning, she met Prime Minister Narendra Modi for official talks. The conversation between the two took place over lunch. Earlier, External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar also met him and later, the Petroleum Minister will meet him.”

He further added, “Venezuela has one of the largest oil reserves in the world. The Indian economy is a large and growing consumer of oil and will see stable demand growth for many years to come. So we see a perfect complement in the energy sector.

In fact, in our spot purchases, Venezuela has already emerged as the third largest supplier this month, so obviously, today’s discussion was focused on building an energy partnership. Without going into details of the conversation, the conversation between the two leaders revealed that Venezuela’s energy sector is going through a major transformation.

They see India as a stable demander for many years to come and hence there is a perfect complement for India and Venezuela to work together in the energy sector, both upstream and downstream.”

Earlier in the day, PM Modi and Rodriguez held a meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi. During this, Foreign Minister Jaishankar, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and other officials were also present.

Tandon said that during the meeting, the Venezuelan side acknowledged that India has stood by them in good and bad times. Venezuela sees India as a preferred partner in the future.

Secretary (East) Tandon said, “In the conversation, there was talk on expanding economic partnership in other areas as well. Venezuela is a very big country which is full of resources, it has talented, hardworking people who are now showing signs of moving forward on the path of continuous growth.

Therefore, there are a lot of opportunities not just in the energy sector but also in sectors like mining, animal husbandry, transportation, agricultural equipment, automotive sector and pharmaceuticals. These were also discussed, and the whole idea was to find ways by which Indian commercial entities can successfully enter the Venezuelan market and a new partnership can be formed in these sectors.”

He further added, “Overall, I would say the talks were very business-like and very important. There was genuine warmth between the two delegations and there was a recognition from the Venezuelan side that India has stood by Venezuela in both good and bad times. It is a long standing relationship and we are a preferred partner for them in the future.”

Rodriguez reached New Delhi on Wednesday on a five-day visit to India. Their aim is to deepen relations between the two countries. This is Rodriguez’s sixth visit to India. Before this, she had visited India as the Foreign Minister of Venezuela in 2015 and as the Vice President in 2019, 2023, 2024 and 2025.