India and Venezuela have agreed to jointly launch pilot projects in Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) across health, education, agriculture, and digital payments. The agreement followed the visit of Venezuelan Vice Minister for Information and Communication Technologies, Raul Hernandez, to India.
The decision was formalized during Hernandez’s meeting with Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs, P. Kumaran, on September 16. The talks centered on adapting India’s scalable DPI platforms—such as Aadhaar, DigiLocker, and Unified Payments Interface (UPI)—to Venezuela’s domestic development needs. The two sides also agreed to expand cooperation in capacity building and technical training, particularly in Artificial Intelligence, digital governance, and citizen services.
Hernandez’s visit marked a follow-up to the India Stack Agreement signed in February 2025, underlining Venezuela’s interest in India’s digital governance ecosystem. He also engaged with key Indian institutions including UIDAI, the National Institute for Smart Governance (NISG), NeGD, AI BHASHINI, and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
Venezuela has shown particular interest in deploying DigiLocker to digitize public records and streamline citizen services, and in exploring Aadhaar-based identity systems to improve public sector efficiency. As part of the new roadmap, Indian experts may help design localized versions of AgriStack and HealthStack, tailored to Venezuelan conditions.
“The focus on digital cooperation reflects both countries’ commitment to inclusive development and tech-driven governance,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.
Beyond the digital domain, Hernandez’s visit also reaffirmed strong ties in pharmaceuticals and trade. India supplied nearly $110 million worth of medicines to Venezuela in 2024–25, covering more than 40% of its annual requirements. India continues to support Venezuela’s healthcare system through commercial exports as well as emergency grants of essential drugs and vaccines. Venezuelan officials stressed that no dues are pending with Indian pharmaceutical companies, and both countries are exploring joint ventures in biotechnology and public health, particularly in the wake of Western supply chain disruptions caused by sanctions.
The visit also carries political significance. It comes ahead of next year’s BRICS Summit in New Delhi, where Venezuela’s formal application for membership is expected to be taken up. Caracas has identified BRICS as a key platform to promote South-South cooperation, and sees India as an important interlocutor in advancing its bid. “Venezuela sees India as a natural partner in its efforts to join BRICS and diversify its global alliances,” a diplomat based in New Delhi said.
India, for its part, continues to position itself as a leading voice for the Global South through technology transfer, capacity building, and diplomatic engagement. The India-Venezuela relationship, rooted in 65 years of diplomatic ties, is now being redefined through the prism of digital transformation, knowledge exchange, and strategic autonomy.
