Overview
India and Venezuela enjoy warm and friendly relations and share similar views on major international political and economic issues. The two countries work closely together in multilateral forums.
Diplomatic relations were established in 1959, and the 65th anniversary was marked in 2024. Both countries have had resident Embassies in Caracas and New Delhi for over four decades.
Political relations: key engagements
- 4–7 Mar 2005State visit of President Hugo Chávez to India; six agreements and MoUs signed, including a Joint Commission and cooperation in hydrocarbons.
- Oct 2019Meetings at the NAM Ministerial and Summit in Baku; Executive Vice President Delcy Rodríguez attended the 2nd International Solar Alliance Assembly in New Delhi.
- 2021–2022External Affairs Minister met Venezuela's Foreign Ministers at UNGA, New York (Sep 2021, Sep 2022).
- 21–23 Nov 20224th Foreign Office Consultations held in Caracas, co-chaired by Secretary (East).
- 3–5 Aug 2023Executive Vice President with four ministers and a 25-member business delegation at the 9th CII India–LAC Conclave.
- 2024Meetings at the NAM Summit in Kampala (Jan), BRICS dialogue in Russia (Jun) and UNGA (Sep); Executive Vice President visited New Delhi (Oct).
- 11–14 Feb 2025Venezuelan delegation at India Energy Week; MoU on sharing successful digital solutions implemented at population scale signed on 12 Feb 2025.
Commercial relations
India's main exports to Venezuela are pharmaceuticals, mineral fuels, cotton, machinery, electrical equipment, apparel and chemicals. Main imports from Venezuela are mineral fuels and oils, iron and steel, aluminium, copper and other metals.
| Year | India's exports | India's imports | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019–20 | 340 | 6,057 | 6,397 |
| 2020–21 | 557 | 714 | 1,271 |
| 2021–22 | 334 | 89 | 424 |
| 2022–23 | 178 | 253 | 431 |
| 2023–24 | 175.33 | 999.69 | 1,175.02 |
Source: DGCI&S, Kolkata.
Energy and investment
- ONGC Videsh Ltd. (OVL) holds 40% in Petrolera IndoVenezolana S.A., the joint venture for the San Cristóbal oil field; PDVSA's subsidiary CVP holds 60%. OVL has invested about US$ 200 million.
- A consortium of OVL, Indian Oil Corporation, Oil India, Repsol and Petronas won the Carabobo project in the Orinoco belt in April 2008.
- Reliance Industries has a 15-year crude supply contract with PDVSA.
Development partnership and education
- ITEC: since 2007, 305 civilian training slots have been offered to Venezuela, of which about 242 have been used. All 30 slots for 2024–25 were utilised.
- Two Venezuelan students joined Delhi University in 2024 under ICCR's Atal Bihari Vajpayee scholarships.
- In February 2025, a grant of US$ 976,500 was approved under the India–UN Development Partnership Fund for a music education project with El Sistema — the first such community project in Venezuela.
Cultural relations
There is strong interest in Indian culture, yoga and Ayurveda in Venezuela. Ayurveda has been recognised as an alternative system of medicine since 2001, and the International Day of Yoga has been celebrated every year since 2015. India Chairs function at the University of Los Andes, Mérida (2006) and the Central University of Venezuela, Caracas (2010).
Indian community
There are about 50 Non-Resident Indians and 30 Persons of Indian Origin in Venezuela. Indian Associations
Source: India–Venezuela bilateral brief, Embassy of India, Caracas (March 2025).