Delcy Rodríguez (L) and Narendra Modi at Hyderabad House, New Delhi, on June 4, 2026. (Photo: MEA)
New Delhi: Venezuela’s executive vice-president and acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, held talks with the prime minister, Narendra Modi, and senior Indian ministers during her official visit to India, with discussions focusing on energy cooperation, trade and investment opportunities as New Delhi seeks to diversify its sources of crude oil imports.
Rodríguez, who is visiting India from June 3 to 6, met Modi in New Delhi on Thursday and also held discussions with the foreign minister, S Jaishankar, and the petroleum and natural gas minister, Hardeep Singh Puri. The visit is being viewed as an important step in strengthening bilateral engagement between the two countries at a time of heightened uncertainty in global energy markets.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the visit offers both sides an opportunity to build on the momentum in their bilateral partnership and expand cooperation across sectors. The MEA secretary (East), Rudrendra Tandon, said Rodríguez’s talks with Modi took place over a working lunch and covered a range of issues of mutual interest.
Energy emerged as a central theme of the discussions. In a statement posted on social media, Puri said India and Venezuela share a longstanding energy partnership dating back to 2008. He noted that Venezuela possesses the world’s largest proven oil reserves, while India offers a large and growing energy market, as well as refining expertise capable of processing Venezuelan crude grades.
Puri said Venezuela had become one of India’s larger crude oil suppliers during April and May 2026, highlighting what he described as significant untapped potential in the relationship. He added that an Indian technical team would visit Venezuela to explore opportunities for deeper cooperation in the energy sector and examine prospects for expanding commercial engagement.
The Venezuelan delegation travelling with Rodríguez included ministers responsible for foreign affairs, communications, finance, science and transport, underlining Caracas’s interest in broadening ties beyond the energy sector. Discussions also covered avenues for Indian companies to expand their presence in Venezuela and potential frameworks for new commercial partnerships.
The visit comes as India continues to pursue a strategy of diversifying its energy imports in response to geopolitical disruptions and volatility in global oil markets. Addressing questions on India’s crude procurement policy, Tandon said New Delhi would continue to purchase oil from a variety of suppliers.
“The problems in the Middle East have led all governments, including India, to aggressively seek to diversify their sources,” he said, adding that India would procure oil “from wherever” it best serves national interests.
India is the world’s third-largest consumer and importer of crude oil, making energy security a key element of its foreign and economic policy. The renewed engagement with Venezuela reflects New Delhi’s effort to maintain access to diverse sources of supply while strengthening economic partnerships across Latin America.
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