DESK
The Ambassador of India, Mr. Ashok Babu, met with the Sectoral Vice President for Science, Technology, Education and Health, H.E. Ms. Gabriela Jimenez, in which they discussed the MoU on Indian pharmacopoeia, academic exchange. The discussions also centered around digital cooperation between India and Venezuela the health sector among many things.
PK Ashok Babu has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Venezuela. The diplomat is an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer of batch 2007.
Diplomatic relations between India and Venezuela were established on 1 October 1959. India maintains an embassy in Caracas, while Venezuela maintains an embassy in New Delhi. There have been several visits by heads of state and government, and other high-level officials between the countries.
India Venezuela ties
According to embassy website, India and Venezuela share a history of warm relations. There is a similarity of views on major international, political and economic issues. This strong partnership extends beyond bilateral cooperation, as both nations actively collaborate in multilateral forums. The two countries marked the 64th Anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations in 2023. Resident Embassies have been in Caracas and New Delhi for over four decades. Venezuela has emerged as one of India’s largest oil suppliers.
Political:
2. A major thrust to the bilateral relationship was imparted by former President Hugo Chavez´s State Visit to India on 4 ‐7 March 2005. He held bilateral talks with former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and former President of India, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. Six Agreements/MoUs were signed including on setting up of a Joint Commission and cooperation in the hydrocarbon sector.
3. Former Foreign Minister of Venezuela, Mr. Nicolas Maduro, who is now the President, visited India to participate in the First Meeting of the India‐CELAC Troika Foreign Ministers held in New Delhi on 7 August 2012. India was represented by former External Affairs Minister, Shri S.M. Krishna. During his visit, Mr. Maduro engaged in bilateral discussions with the External Affairs Minister and the Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas. In a reciprocal visit, Shri V.S. Sampath, the former Chief Election Commissioner of India, traveled to Caracas from 27 August to 1 September 2012 to take part in an International Seminar on “Innovation and Technological Vanguard: Automated Voting Systems”. This visit culminated in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the National Electoral Council (CNE) of Venezuela. Additionally, the President of CNE visited India first in January 2010 to participate in the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations of ECI and then again in 2011.
4. The then President and the then Prime Minister of India condoled the passing of President Hugo Chavez on 5 March 2013. Former Minister of State for Corporate Affairs, Shri Sachin Pilot, represented India at President Chavez’s State funeral. Shri Pilot paid his condolences to President Chavez’s mother, Mrs. Elena Frias de Chavez and to the then Acting President, Mr. Nicolas Maduro.
5. External Affairs Minister Smt. Sushma Swaraj met former Executive Vice President Mr. Jorge Arreaza on 22 April 2015 on the sidelines of Asia Africa Summit 2015 in Jakarta, Indonesia.
6. Minister of State for External Affairs, Gen. (Dr.) V. K. Singh visited Caracas on 24‐25 May 2015. During his visit, he conducted meetings with former Vice President Mr. Jorge Arreaza, Foreign Minister Dr. Delcy Rodriguez, former Oil and Mining Minister Mr. Asdrubal Chavez, and the President of the national oil company of Venezuela, PDVSA, Mr. Eulogio del Pino. External Affairs Minister, Smt. Sushma Swaraj had a pull-aside with Foreign Minister Dr. Delcy Rodriguez in New York on 30 September 2015 on the sidelines of UNGA session.
7. Former Venezuelan FM Dr. Delcy Rodriguez led a 14-member delegation including Oil Minister Mr. Eulogio del Pino and Vice Minister Mr. Felix Plasencia to visit India during 17‐18 August 2016. Dr. Rodriguez handed over an invitation from President Maduro for India’s participation in the 17th NAM Summit. The delegation had meetings with EAM Smt Sushma Swaraj and MOS for Petroleum and Natural Gas (Independent Charge) Shri Dharmendra Pradhan.
8. The 17th NAM Summit was held in Margarita Island in Venezuela during 17‐18 September 2016. Former Vice President Shri Hamid Ansari represented India at the Summit whereas MOS for External Affairs, Shri M.J. Akbar and Ambassador/ PR to UN led the Ministerial and SOM respectively. Terrorism and UN reforms were the focal areas of India’s intervention at the Summit. Former VP had a bilateral meeting with President Maduro.
9. Venezuelan FM Mr. Jorge Arreaza signed the International Solar Agreement on November 6, 2017. President Maduro ratified the International Solar Alliance Framework Agreement on March 6, 2018. Venezuela sent a high‐level delegation to the International Solar Alliance Founding Conference in New Delhi on March 11, 2018, led by FM Mr. Jorge Arreaza and accompanied by Minister of Foreign Trade, Mr. Vielma Mora and Petroleum Minister, Mr. Manuel Quevedo. On the sidelines, the delegation met the Indian Commerce and Industry Minister, Shri Suresh Prabhu and Petroleum Minister, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan.
10. EAM Smt. Sushma Swaraj met the FM of Venezuela Mr. Jorge Arreaza on the sidelines of Mid‐term Ministerial meeting of NAM on 5 April 2018. President of the Supreme Court, Mr. Maikel Moreno participated in the 19th International Conference of Chief Justices of the World held in India from 14‐20 November 2018 in Lucknow.
11. The Ministerial Meeting of the Coordination Bureau of the NAM took place in Caracas on July 20 and 21, 2019. India was represented by a 3‐member delegation, headed by Shri Syed Akbaruddin, Ambassador/ Permanent Representative of India to the UN.
12. In Baku, Azerbaijan, on October 24, 2019 Venezuelan FM Mr. Jorge Arreaza, met with the EAM of India, Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. The meeting was framed in the XVIII Preparatory Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs for the Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Non‐Aligned Movement (NAM). Vice President Shri Venkaiah Naidu met with President of Venezuela Mr. Nicolás Maduro on the sidelines of the 18th NAM Summit in Baku, Azerbaijan on 26 October, 2019.
13. Venezuelan Executive Vice President Dr. Delcy Rodríguez visited India along with Minister of Economy and Finance, Mr. Simón Zerpa to attend the 2nd International Solar Alliance General Assembly during 29-30 October, 2019. She also met the EAM Dr. S. Jaishankar.
14. The Executive Vice President, Dr. Delcy Rodriguez and the Foreign Minister, Jorge Arreaza have indicated that President Maduro wants to visit India. President Maduro has also expressed his desire to visit India during the credential ceremony of Ambassador in August 2020.
15. Hon’ble External Affairs Minister of India, Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar met H.E. Mr. Felix Plasencia, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Venezuela on the sidelines of the UNGA in New York on 25 September 2021.
16. Hon’ble External Affairs Minister of India, Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar met H.E. Mr. Carlos Faria, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Venezuela on the sidelines of the UNGA in New York on 24 September, 2022. Exchanged views on the global political and economic scenarios.
17. Shri Saurabh Kumar, Secretary (East) visited Caracas during November 21-23, 2022 and co-chaired the fourth Foreign Office Consultations between India and Venezuela.
18. At the invitation of Hon’ble Minister of Commerce & Industry Shri Piyush Goyal, Venezuelan Executive Vice President Dr. Delcy Rodriguez, accompanied by four other Ministers as well as a 25-member business delegation, visited India to participate in the 9th CII-LAC Conclave from August 3-5, 2023. During the visit, she called on and held discussions with Uprashtraptiji, Hon’ble Minister of Finance, Hon’ble EAM as well as Hon’ble Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
Commercial:
19. An MOU on the establishment of an Indo-Venezuelan Joint Commission was signed during President Chavez’s visit to India in 2005. Shri Rao Inderjit Singh, formerly Minister of State (Foreign Affairs), led the Indian delegation for the first session of the Joint Commission in August 2005 in Caracas. The Joint Commission discussed cooperation in energy, infrastructure, railways, low cost housing, trade, science and technology, culture, poverty alleviation, consumer protection and standards, health, agriculture and defense. The 2nd JCM between India and Venezuela was held in Delhi on 20-21 December 2013. The Indian side was led by Shri Salman Khurshid, former Minister of External Affairs while the Venezuelan side was led by Mr. Elias Jaua, former Foreign Minister, who headed a huge delegation comprising 9 Vice Ministers dealing with Petrochemicals, External Trade, Agriculture, Food, Health, Air and Water Transport, Telecommunications, IT & Postal Services, Culture and Education. EAM said that India greatly valued its relationship with Venezuela which had become the 3rd largest supplier of crude oil to India in 2012 and that India was keen to diversify India’s relations with Venezuela in other areas of mutual interest. Mr. Jaua said that his visit demonstrated that Venezuela regarded its relationship with India as very important and wanted to upgrade it to a strategic level. Mr. Jaua’s visit provided a renewed opportunity for high level political contact between the two countries.
20. Shri Murli Deora, former Minister of Oil and Natural Gas visited Venezuela in May 2010 to witness the signing ceremony of the Carabobo oil project. During the call of Shri Deora with former President Chavez, the latter agreed to supply more crude to India.
21. Shri Jyotiraditya Scindia, former Minister of State for Trade and Industry, together with a 20‐member IIC business delegation, made an official visit to Venezuela on July 8‐9, 2012. Bilateral talks were held with the Venezuelan Minister of Commerce, the Minister of Health, Deputy Foreign Minister and Vice President of PDVSA.
22. Mr. Rafael Ramírez, former Minister of Petroleum and Mining and President of PDVSA visited India and held wide‐ranging discussions with former Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Shri Veerappa Moily on September 24, 2013.
23. Minister of State (independent charge) for Oil and Natural Gas, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan met former Oil and Mining Minister Mr. Asdrúbal Chavez on June 4, 2015, in Vienna.
24. Former PDVSA President, Mr. Eulogio Del Pino visited India on 15‐16 June 2015. He met Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan and Minister of State for External Affairs, Gen. (Dr.) V. K. Singh.
25. Mr. Manuel Quevedo, Oil Minister of Venezuela visited India to attend an energy event (PETROTECH) on 11 February 2019. He also met Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas (independent charge), Shri Dharmendra Pradhan.
26. The main items of India’s exports are mineral fuels and oils and products of their distillation; bituminous substances, pharmaceutical products, cotton, nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances, electrical machinery and equipment; sound recorders and reproducers, television image and sound recorders and reproducers, articles of apparel and clothing accessories and miscellaneous chemical products.
27. The main items of India’s imports from Venezuela are mineral fuels and oils and products of their distillation, bituminous substances; mineral waxes, iron and steel, aluminium, edible vegetables and certain roots and tubers, copper and articles thereof, lead and articles thereof, zinc and articles thereof, wood and articles of wood; electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof; sound recorders and reproducers, television image and sound recorders and reproducers, raw hides, skins and leather, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; edible fruit and nuts; plastic and articles thereof, organic chemicals, miscellaneous chemical products, articles of iron or steel.
