Venezuela keen to increase cooperation in critical minerals sector with India

Venezuela has great interest in developing cooperation and attracting investments with India in the critical mineral sector, the ministry of commerce said in a statement on Saturday, November 15, 2025.

The issue was discussed between Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Venezuelan Ecological Mining Development Minister Hector Silva at a meeting held in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.

“During the meeting, the Venezuelan side expressed interest in expanding economic relations with India beyond the oil sector, including cooperation in critical minerals and attracting Indian investments,” the statement said.

Mr. Goyal emphasized the need to reactivate the India-Venezuela Joint Committee Mechanism, whose last meeting was held a decade ago.

He noted that ONGC’s ongoing operations in Venezuela provide scope for deeper cooperation in mining and exploration.

He suggested that Venezuela might consider adopting the Indian Pharmacopoeia to facilitate trade in medicines and highlighted opportunities to improve cooperation in the automobile sector.

In a separate statement, the Ministry said that National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation Limited, Logistics Data Services Limited and Andhra Pradesh government have signed an MoU to digitize the logistics landscape in Andhra Pradesh using Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP).

As part of the initiative, an integrated digital platform will be developed and implemented to provide government and private stakeholders in Andhra Pradesh with real-time visibility into the state’s logistics operations and performance metrics.

The platform aims to improve coordination, increase efficiency and support informed decision-making across sectors by providing stakeholders seamless access to real-time information.