Newsroom, November 15, 2025: Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal met Venezuela's Ecological Mining Development Minister Hector Silva on the sidelines of the CII Partnership Summit in Visakhapatnam, exploring ways to deepen economic links beyond energy, including joint ventures in critical minerals and Indian capital flows into Venezuelan projects.
The talks aim to restart the India-Venezuela Joint Committee, dormant for 10 years, while building on ONGC's existing mining and exploration work in the South American nation. Goyal suggested Venezuela recognise the Indian Pharmacopoeia to ease pharmaceutical exports and expand auto sector partnerships, amid eased U.S. sanctions in 2024 that have already boosted heavy crude shipments to India.
Venezuela's Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, overseeing petroleum, visited India in February for the Energy India Week, engaging Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on similar fronts. The summit, themed around navigating global economic shifts, positions these discussions as steps toward mutual prosperity through tech sharing and balanced trade.
