India and Venezuela are exploring deeper cooperation in the energy sector, with discussions covering both upstream and downstream activities, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday.
MEA Secretary (East) Rudrendra Tandon, briefing reporters on the official visit of Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodriguez, said New Delhi sees "perfect complementarity" with Caracas in the energy space.
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"Acting President of Venezuela Delcy Rodriguez paid a working visit to India from 3rd to 6th June. She was accompanied by a very large ministerial delegation that included Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Communication and Information, Economy and Finance, Science and Technology, and the Minister of Transportation," Tandon said.
Rodriguez met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday morning for official talks, which extended into a working lunch. Earlier in the day, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also called on her. Venezuela's Minister of Petroleum was scheduled to meet the delegation later in the day, Tandon added.
The MEA clarified there were no big-ticket announcements expected from the visit, signalling the trip was more exploratory in nature.
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Venezuela holds some of the world's largest proven oil reserves. India, one of the world's biggest energy consumers, has historically imported Venezuelan crude, though trade flows were disrupted by US sanctions on Caracas. The visit comes amid shifting geopolitical dynamics and a gradual, if uncertain, easing of some of those restrictions.
The high-level delegation, spanning ministers across finance, science, technology, and transportation, points to an intent to broaden the bilateral agenda beyond energy, even if that sector remains the dominant focus of the current engagement.
