India and Venezuela signalled a broadening of bilateral engagement across multiple sectors following the 5th India–Venezuela Foreign Office Consultations held in New Delhi on November 26.
The meeting, co-chaired by P. Kumaran, Secretary (East) in India’s Ministry of External Affairs, and Tatiana Josefina Pugh Moreno, Venezuela’s Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs. focused on strengthening collaboration in digital technology, health and pharmaceuticals, trade diversification, critical minerals, agriculture, development cooperation, and people-to-people ties.
A key outcome of the consultations was Venezuela’s decision to initiate pilot projects based on India’s Digital Public Infrastructure systems. These pilots will be implemented in areas such as health, education, agriculture and digital payments, adapting Indian platforms including Aadhaar, DigiLocker and UPI for use in the Venezuelan context.
The move follows the September visit of Raul Hernandez, Venezuela’s Vice Minister for Information and Communication Technologies, who held discussions in New Delhi with Indian counterparts on digital identity, service delivery and fintech applications. During that visit, technical engagements were conducted with agencies such as UIDAI, NISG, NeGD, AI BHASHINI and NPCI to prepare frameworks for customised versions of AgriStack and HealthStack for Venezuelan institutions.
Health and pharmaceutical cooperation also featured prominently. Both sides reviewed ongoing collaboration, noting that India supplied nearly USD 110 million worth of medicines to Venezuela in 2024–25, meeting over 40 per cent of Venezuela’s annual requirement. Venezuelan officials confirmed that there are no outstanding payment dues to Indian pharmaceutical companies.
Discussions included scope for further collaboration in biotechnology, vaccine-related initiatives and steps to stabilise medical supply chains impacted by global disruptions, with India reiterating support through routine commercial shipments and emergency supplies of essential medicines.
Trade and critical minerals were central to the economic discussions. The consultations built on the recent bilateral interaction between Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Venezuela’s Minister of Ecological Mining Development Hector Silva during the CII Partnership Summit in Visakhapatnam on November 14–15.
Venezuela expressed interest in cooperation in critical minerals, mining technologies and investment partnerships. India proposed reviving the India–Venezuela Joint Committee Mechanism, which last convened a decade ago, and highlighted the continued presence of ONGC in Venezuela as an area with potential for deeper collaboration.
India also encouraged Venezuela to consider recognising the Indian Pharmacopoeia to facilitate smoother regulatory processes and expand pharmaceutical trade. Additional discussions covered potential cooperation in automobiles, engineering goods and industrial supply chains as both countries explore ways to diversify bilateral commerce.
Agriculture and development cooperation were further reviewed, with an emphasis on how forthcoming DPI pilots such as AgriStack could support Venezuela in modernising farm registries, improving crop data management and enhancing access to agricultural services.
The two sides also discussed expanding development partnership programmes, including capacity-building initiatives under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation framework, along with skill development, artificial intelligence and digital governance training.
Cultural and people-to-people exchanges were reaffirmed as important components of the relationship. Both delegations underlined the role of academic collaboration, youth exchanges and institutional partnerships, while noting the contributions made by the Indian-origin community residing in Venezuela.
Multilateral coordination was also part of the agenda, including Venezuela’s interest in BRICS membership, which is expected to be discussed at the next BRICS Summit hosted by India. Both sides agreed to enhance coordination in multilateral forums and continue engagement aimed at strengthening South–South cooperation and broadening international outreach.
