Venezuela acting president may visit India next week

NEW DELHI: Amid India’s efforts to diversify its oil supplies, Venezuela’s acting President, Delcy Rodriguez, is likely to visit New Delhi this week, according to official sources. Rodriguez was earlier supposed to visit India for the International Big Cat Alliance meeting, but the event was deferred.

While talking about the US initiative to sell more energy to India, secretary of state Marco Rubio said last week Rodriguez would soon be visiting India. Washington, which has oversight over Venezuelan oil, has been encouraging India to buy more from the South American country.

Govt indicated in Feb it’s open to exploring the possibility of purchasing more crude from Venezuela. “...We have a long-standing energy partnership with them, and we remain open to exploring options of availability of crude oil from Venezuela and other places, depending on its viability,” said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal. Last month, Venezuela became India’s third-largest crude supplier as refiners increased purchases of cheaper crude amid West Asia conflict.