India-Venezuela Relations Political Resident Embassies have been in existence in Caracas and New Delhi for over three decades and considerable mutual goodwill and cordiality between the two countries is most apparent in multilateral fora. Venezuela is a member of NAM and G-15. There is coincidence of views on major international, political and economic issues between India and Venezuela. The leadership and people of Venezuela have great regard for India, its policies, culture and traditions and the role India has played in international affairs since independence. Venezuela has been generally supporting India in international organizations. President Chavez made a State visit to India on 4-7 March, 2005. He had bilateral talks with Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and the then President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. Six Agreements/MoUs were signed including setting up of a Joint Commission and for cooperation in hydrocarbons. Shri Murli Deora, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, visited Venezuela from April 7-10, 2008 and witnessed the signing of a Joint Venture Agreement between OVL and CVP (subsidiary of PDVSA) for production and exploration of oil in San Cristobal. He called on President Chavez, Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez, and Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro. Shri Anand Sharma, Minister of State for External Affairs, visited Venezuela from May 18-20, 2008. He met President Chavez and Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro. Shri Murli Deora, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, made his second visit to Venezuela in May 2010 to witness the signing ceremony of Carabobo Oil Project and brought a letter from PM Manmohan Singh for President Chavez. Shri Deora also called on President Chavez during which President Chavez, among other things, agreed to supply more crude oil to India. Shri Deora carried a letter from President Chavez addressed to PM Manmohan Singh in which President Chavez expressed satisfaction that the oil companies of the Venezuela and India were cooperating with each other and hoped that the two countries could further expand their List containing visits and agreements signed is at Annexure I Bilateral trade (in Million US $)
The main items of India’s exports are pharmaceuticals, chemicals, calcinated petroleum coke, textiles and engineering products such as scooters, equipment and machinery. Indian pharma industry has already made a mark and a number of reputed companies, such as Ranbaxy, Dr. Reddy’s Labs, Aurobindo Pharma, Cipla, Core Health Care, Ipca Laboratories Ltd., Sun Pharma, Claris Lifesinces Ltd. are operating in Venezuela. The main items of India’s imports from Venezuela are crude oil, iron pellets and electrical cables. Several Indian companies have been selling chemicals, engineering goods, vehicles etc. through agents although market uncertainties have prevented major expansion. Tata Motors entered the market with its first consignment of 1000 Indica and Indigo cars in 2007. Private sector Indian IT company, Mann India, has been operational in Venezuela, bagging software development projects in private banks and government bodies. Joint Commission The MOU on the establishment of a Joint Commission was signed during the visit of President Chavez to India in 2005. The first session of the Joint Commission was held in Caracas on August 31, 2005. Shri Rao Inderjit Singh, former Minister of State (External Affairs), visited Venezuela, accompanied by a delegation comprising representatives of Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Department of Consumer Affairs, Bureau of Indian Standards, IRCON, OVL, EXIM Bank, BEML, NIIT, TCS and Essar. The Joint Commission discussed cooperation in areas such as energy, infrastructure and railways, low cost housing, trade, science and technology, culture, poverty alleviation, consumer protection and standards, health, agriculture and defence. The second session of the Joint Commission is yet to take place. Hydrocarbons A bilateral Agreement on cooperation in Hydrocarbons sector wassigned during President Chavez’s visit in March 2005, along with an MoU offering ONGCVidesh Ltd. (OVL) opportunities for oil and gas exploration in Venezuela, including a heavy oil field in the Orinoco belt following which OVL opened its office in Venezuela. OnApril 8, 2008, an agreement between OVL and CVP (subsidiary of PDVSA) was signed for the creation of a Joint Venture called “Petrolera IndoVenezolana SA” for production and exploration of oil in the San Cristobal field in which OVL has a 40% stake while PDVSA has the remaining 60% share. OVL’s investment in the San Cristobal Project is US $ 355.7 million. In a major development on February 10, 2010, an international consortium comprising ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL), Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Oil India Ltd. (OIL), Repsol of Spain and Petronas of Malaysia were declared the winners to develop a multi-billion dollar integrated onshore Carabobo oil project in the Orinoco belt of Venezuela. The three Indian companies will together hold 18% of the stake, while Petronas and Repsol will each have 11%. The remaining 60% stake will remain with PDVSA, Venezuela’s national oil company. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by PM Manmohan Singh, on March 19, 2010, approved an initial investment of US$2.181 billion in the project. On May 12, 2010, a signing ceremony was held in Caracas for the creation of the Joint Venture, PetroCarabobo S.A., between CVP and members of the international consortium, in the presence of President Hugo Chavez and witnessed by Shri Murli Deora, Hon’ble Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas of India. Other sectors Venezuela has expressed interest in cooperation with India for import of relevant technologies and machinery for endogenous development projects in the country such as agro processing. There is also interest in collaboration with India in the health sector, bio-technology, remote sensing, IT and other areas. Agreements are being negotiated between India and Venezuela in health, education, housing and I.T. sectors. Cultural Venezuelan electronic and print media have been bringing out stories on India and documentaries/programmes on India. Performances of Indian dance and music troupes have been regularly sponsored through ICCR. Festivals of India, Indian Food Festivals and Indian Film Festivals are organized regularly by the Embassy in collaboration with Venezuelan authorities. Venezuelan electronic and print media have been screening/publishing documentaries/programmes and stories on India. There are several centres in Venezuela of Indian spiritual groups like Sai Baba, Brahma Kumaris, Radha Swami etc. There are also ISKON temples and several yoga centres all over the country. There are a large number of Sai Baba devotees in Venezuela, many of whom visit India on a regular basis. Ayurveda is becoming popular here and has been recognized as an alternative system of medical treatment in a Health regulation by the Government of Venezuela in February, 2001. The 7th Food and Cultural Festival of India in Caracas was held successfully at Hotel Marriott from 18-30 October, 2010. List of religious and spiritual centers of India in Venezuela is at Annexure II Education The Embassy was instrumental in starting a Cathedra Libre (India Chair/Study Centres) in the University of Los Andes (ULA) in Merida in 2006 and in the Central University of Venezuela (UCV) in Caracas in 2007. The Cathedra Libre in ULA is particularly active under the guidance of Prof. Hernan Lucena, Director of the Centre for African and Asian Studies in ULA, organizing seminars, symposia, etc. on Gandhiji and India-related subjects on a regular basis. It has set up a permanent course on the “Thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi.” Gandhiji’s autobiography has also been published in Spanish by the Embassy in collaboration with the University. ULA has also entered into a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding with JNU and Delhi University. However, there have been relatively few exchanges of students, largely because of the language difficulties. The Universidad Central de Venezuela (UCV), the largest university in Venezuela, started a Catedra Libre India (A study Circle on India) in 2008, which was formally launched on April 7, 2010 in which Ambassador was invited to make a statement. With the active support of the Embassy, the Catedra intends to encourage the studies of Indian history, culture and polity etc within the University campus through seminars, talks etc. List of expert Indologists is at Annexure III Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Programme was launched in 1964. Every year scholarships for short term courses are granted for professionals in Venezuela in various disciplines. The applicants must speak English, which is the medium of instruction. The scholarship includes roundtrip airfare, cost of training, accommodation and out of pocket allowance. The employees and officials of the Government, Public Sector Enterprises, Universities and Chamber of Commerce and Industries are eligible to apply for scholarship under ITEC programme. In 2009-10, 15 slots have been offered to Venezuela and the countries of concurrent accreditation Aruba, Curacao and St.Maarten. Utilization of ITEC slots has been rather slow and sporadic, mainly on account of language difficulties faced by Venezuelans. In 2010-11, out of 15 slots offered to Venezuela and the countries of concurrent accreditation, Venezuela utilized 7 slots, while the countries of concurrent accreditation, Curacao and Aruba, utilized 3 slots. For details of Courses and Institutes : please click here Indian Community There are about 50 Indian families in Venezuela, of which about 35 are in Caracas. These comprise mostly businessmen, professionals and professors. At the initiative of the Embassy, the Indian Association of Venezuela, which was dormant since 1997, was revived in 2003. The Association has since been organizing several activities on Diwali, Holi, etc. March, 2011
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