NEW DELHI, June 2 - Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodriguez will be in India from June 3 to June 7, the Indian foreign ministry announced on Tuesday, at a moment when New Delhi has been increasing its crude oil purchases from Caracas.
Indian purchases placed the country as the second-largest importer of Venezuelan oil in May, at 427,000 barrels per day, behind only the United States. In recent months, Reliance Industries has risen to become one of the three largest buyers of Venezuelan crude, according to the data cited by the ministry.
During the June visit, Rodriguez is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the ministry's spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters. Jaiswal said the talks will span the full spectrum of India-Venezuela relations and will explore opportunities for cooperation across several areas, explicitly naming energy, trade, investment, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, transportation, and renewable energy.
Rodriguez previously visited India in February 2025 while serving as Venezuela's oil minister, leading a delegation that took part in the India Energy Week conference.
The diplomatic trip coincides with heightened attention on securing oil supplies for India, the world's third-largest oil importer and consumer. Indian officials are managing disruptions to supply routes attributed in the ministry statement to the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, which has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz - a channel that historically carried more than 40% of the South Asian nation's crude oil imports.
India's renewed trade in Venezuelan crude follows a pause last year, when New Delhi stopped buying Venezuelan oil after the United States instituted a 25% discretionary tariff on countries purchasing crude from the South American nation under then-President Donald Trump. Purchases resumed in February when sanctions were eased following a flagship oil supply agreement between Washington and Caracas.
Under that arrangement, which was reached after the U.S. capture of President Nicolas Maduro in January, Washington manages the proceeds from Venezuelan oil sales through bank accounts overseen by the U.S. Treasury Department. The arrangement also specifies that commercial terms for those sales will follow the guidance of the Treasury Department, the foreign ministry statement noted.
Officials will likely discuss practical arrangements and frameworks that touch on both energy trade and broader economic ties. The scheduled meetings underline India's interest in diversifying supply sources and formalizing commercial relationships as it navigates regional and global supply disruptions.
Context and focus
- The visit is explicitly framed around energy and broad bilateral cooperation.
- India's import volumes from Venezuela in May place it second only to the United States.
- Sanctions relief and a U.S.-administered framework for proceeds underpin resumed Venezuelan oil sales.