India’s partnership with Venezuela is of “immense importance” for the Global South, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday (June 4, 2026), welcoming Delcy Rodriguez, the Acting President of Venezuela, even as the South American country called “energy security a fundamental pillar of the bilateral relationship”.
Venezuela is still dealing with the uncertain aftermath of the abduction of President Nicolas Maduro by the U.S. military in January. Officials said Ms. Rodriguez, whose country is dealing with ‘political transition’ and ‘fundamental economic transformation’, described India a “trusted partner”. The leader, who arrived here on Wednesday, is on a five-day visit.
Following the meeting with Prime Minister Modi, Ms. Rodriguez met Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri who announced that an Indian “technical team” will visit Venezuela “soon” to explore further potential energy partnerships.
“We had extensive discussions on expanding our cooperation in energy, critical minerals, technology, agriculture, health and people-to-people ties. As a valued partner in Latin America, our close cooperation with Venezuela holds immense importance for the Global South. We will continue to work together for the mutual benefit of the people of our nations,” said Mr. Modi after the meeting.
A press release from the Venezuelan government said the meeting was aimed at “strengthening the role of both nations in the geopolitical context of the Global South and on boosting mutually beneficial macroeconomic agreements”. It described India as “one of the main destinations for the Nation’s energy exports, making energy security a fundamental pillar of the bilateral relationship.”
Ms. Rodriguez, who was accompanied by Ministers of economy, foreign affairs, science and technology, transport and communication, conducted a “comprehensive review of the mutual cooperation map”, the press note said, adding that the bilateral relation is in an “excellent state”.
Officials informed that Ms. Rodriguez discussed the political situation in Venezuela in a “frank conversation” with Mr. Modi during official-level talks and over the working lunch that followed. “We all know there was a transition in Venezuela, and we are working with a government that is friendly and that wants partnership with India. We want to reciprocate that,” said Rudrendra Tandon, Secretary (East) of the External Affairs Ministry, while briefing the media.
“Venezuela has been traditionally a very close friend. Bilaterally we have done a lot of partnership and at the international level we have collaborated very closely,” said Mr. Tandon, explaining that the spectrum of relationship between the two sides covered political, multilateral and energy partnerships.
Following the delegation-level talks at Hyderabad House, Ms. Rodriguez held a meeting with Mr. Puri who said in a post on X that Venezuela has emerged as “among the largest crude oil suppliers to India in April and May 2026”.
“Our technical team will visit Venezuela soon to further explore this potential. Indian companies already have existing investments in Venezuela and now look forward to building upon them, in addition to looking for newer opportunities for fruitful collaborations…” said Mr. Puri, presenting a forward-looking energy policy of the Government of India which is trying to secure alternative energy sources as the Indian economy is dealing with the turbulence in global energy market caused by the U.S.-Israel war on Iran and the retaliatory Iranian chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz.
“Venezuela possesses one of the largest oil reserves in the world. The Indian economy is a large and growing consumer of oil and will have a stable demand growth in the years to come. Thus in the energy sector, we see a perfect complementarity,” said Mr. Tandon, informing that the discussions at the Hyderabad House were focused on forging an “energy partnership”.
He said that there was no government-to-government energy agreement during the meeting and that the conversations were aimed at building an “energy relationship”. He indicated that Ms. Rodriguez is expected to meet private sector oil majors during her visit but declined to elaborate on them as they fell in the domain of private interactions of the visiting guests.
Mr. Tandon mentioned that Ms. Rodriguez will travel to Gujarat, giving a preview of the energy business that is part of her visit. The visiting Venezuelan leader, who is a devotee of the late spiritual leader Satya Sai Baba, is also expected to visit the Satya Sai Baba Ashram.
Published - June 04, 2026 04:49 pm IST
Source: The Hindu - India News
