The Indian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that interim Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez will visit India from June 3 to 7, at a time when New Delhi is ramping up its imports of crude oil from Caracas.
Reuters reported that India was the second largest importer of Venezuelan oil in May, with purchases reaching 427,000 barrels per day, second only to the United States. India’s Reliance Industries has emerged as one of the three largest buyers of Venezuelan crude in recent months.
Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said in a press conference that Rodriguez will hold talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during her visit.
“The discussions will span the full spectrum of India-Venezuela relations and will include and explore ways to enhance cooperation in the areas of energy, trade, investment, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, transportation and renewable energy,” Jaiswal said.
Rodriguez’s last visit to India was in February 2025 when she was Venezuelan Oil Minister, and led a delegation participating in the Indian Energy Week conference.
Her visit comes as India, the world’s third-largest oil importer and consumer, faces supply disruptions caused by the US-Israel war with Iran, which has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz – a key channel that transports more than 40% of the South Asian country’s crude oil imports.
India stopped buying Venezuelan oil last year, after US President Donald Trump allowed a discretionary tariff of 25% to be imposed on countries that buy crude oil from the South American country. Purchases resumed when sanctions were eased in February following a major oil supply deal between Washington and Caracas.
Under the agreement, reached after the US arrest of President Nicolas Maduro in January, Washington controls revenues from Venezuelan oil sales through bank accounts managed by the Treasury Department, with trade terms also following its directives.
