Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodríguez arrived in Mumbai on Friday to pursue expanded strategic partnerships with India and to establish new agreements, as Venezuela strengthens its role as a major crude supplier to the South Asian nation. The visit places energy cooperation at the center of discussions, with hydrocarbons identified as a key sector of engagement between the two governments.
Rodríguez’s trip includes meetings and official engagements in Mumbai, India’s main financial hub, and follows a visit to the Jamnagar refinery in the western state of Gujarat, described as the largest refinery in the world. She is scheduled to remain in India through June 7, with an agenda focused on expanding bilateral economic ties and consolidating joint projects in priority sectors.
During meetings with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, and Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, discussions centered on energy cooperation and investment. Rodríguez invited Indian oil companies to expand their operations in Venezuela and increase participation in the country’s hydrocarbons sector. She described India as a reliable partner and emphasized what she characterized as complementarities between the two countries in the energy field.
Minister Puri expressed India’s interest in strengthening bilateral energy trade, noting that Venezuela forms part of India’s strategy to diversify oil supply sources following instability in the Middle East. Both sides discussed the possibility of developing a long-term energy partnership framework.
Trade data cited during the visit indicates a significant rise in Venezuelan crude exports to India. In April and May, Venezuela ranked among India’s leading oil suppliers, with exports increasing from 64,027 metric tons to 1,047,148 metric tons. Indian state-owned companies have maintained investments in Venezuela’s oil sector since 2008, including an estimated $1 billion directed toward projects in the San Cristobal and Petrocarabobo-1 fields in the Orinoco Belt, an area known for extensive reserves of heavy and extra-heavy crude oil.
While discussions continued in India, Venezuelan officials were also engaged in parallel negotiations in Russia aimed at strengthening broader economic cooperation.
In St. Petersburg, Venezuelan Planning Minister Ricardo Menéndez met with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko during the XXIX St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. The meeting focused on reviewing progress in a bilateral development roadmap extending to 2030, which includes 65 measures across 20 sectors.
The plan sets a target of reaching $400 million in bilateral trade by the end of the decade and aims to position Venezuela among Russia’s top ten trading partners in Latin America. Official figures from the Russian-Venezuelan High-Level Intergovernmental Commission show that trade between the two countries increased by 9 percent in 2025, reaching $217 million.
According to those figures, Russian imports of Venezuelan agricultural goods, including cocoa, coffee, and seafood, tripled over the period. To support trade expansion, Russian company United Confectioners established two cocoa pre-processing plants in Venezuela’s Sucre state. Both governments are also advancing regulatory efforts to facilitate livestock exports and broaden market access.
The cooperation agenda also covers health, science, and industrial development. Officials highlighted the Russian-Venezuelan Center for the Study and Prevention of Infectious Diseases, which has conducted more than 40,000 diagnostic procedures. Additional projects discussed include insulin production localization in Venezuela, a proposed KamAZ assembly plant, and the continued operation of Russia’s GLONASS satellite navigation station in the country.
Educational and cultural exchanges were also addressed, including Russia’s allocation of 200 university scholarships for Venezuelan students and the establishment of five Russian-language centers in Venezuela. Both sides also confirmed continued direct flights and announced a bilateral business forum scheduled for June 12, where Venezuela is expected to present its tourism sector at an international forum.
