India-Venezuela Relations

1993
MoS(P & NG) Capt. Satish Sharma

1995
Minister of Commerce & Industry,Shir Murasoli Maran

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2001
Minister of Textiles, Shri K. Rana

2002
EAM, Shri Yashwant Sinha

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2004
Minister of Parliamentary Affairs,Sh. Ghulam Nabi Azad

2005
Minister of State for External Affairs(RIS)

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2005
From Venezuela to India

Political

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President, Dr. Rafael Caldera (as President of IPU)

1982

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Brief halts by President Chavez in Mumbai

1999, 2000,2001

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Minister of Foreign Trade

1994

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Minister of Energy and Mines

1996

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Foreign Minister, Mr. Burelli Rivas

1997

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Vice-Minister of Energy & Mines

1997

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Minister for Science & Technology

2001

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Minister for Education

2001

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OPEC Secretary-General, Dr.Ali Rodriguez

2001

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Foreign Minister, Mr. Jesus Arnaldo Perez

Sep., 2004

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Vice-Minister for Science & Technology,Dr. Nuris Orihuela,

Nov., 2004

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Vice Minister in charge of Asia, Middle East & Oceania in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,Mr. William Izarra

Feb., 2005

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President Hugo Chavez Frias

2005 (March 4-7)

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Vice-Minister for Investment Promotions,2 Mr. Valmore Vasquez

2005 (Nov. 23-26)

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Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs,Alcides Rondon

2006 (May 21-24)

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Official

DG, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (FOC) May 2004
Bilateral Agreements

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Cultural Agreement – 1984

Cultural Exchange Programme 1993-95 (Negotiations are on for a new Programme)

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MoU on Cooperation in the area of S&T – 1987

MoU on Cooperation in the Hydrocarbon Sector - 1996

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MoU on Foreign Office Consultations – 1999

Agreement between OIL and PDVSA for study & exploration of heavy oil in Rajasthan – 2003

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MoU for Cooperation between the Diplomatic Institutes of India and Venezuela – 2004

Agreement in the Area of Hydrocarbons – 2005

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MoU in the area of Bio Technology – 2005

MoU on Cooperation in Space -2005

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MoU on Cooperation between PDVSA and OVL – 2005

MoU on Establishment of Joint commission – 2005

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Letter of Intent on Cooperation in field of Railways between IRCON and IAFE (Railway Institute of Venezuela) – 2005

Agreement on Visa Exemption on Diplomatic, Official and Service Passports - 2005

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Trade

Venezuela rated B1 by Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India
(ECGC).

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2003 2004 2005 2006(Jan-July)
India’s exports to Venezuela 24.518 50.961 98.27 64.77
India’s imports from Venezuela 4.370 9.755 34.65 19.48
The main items of India’s exports are pharmaceuticals, chemicals, textiles and engineering products such as scooters, equipment and machinery. Indian pharma industry has already made a mark and number of reputed companies, such as Ranbaxy, Dr. Reddy’s Labs, Aurobindo Pharma, Cipla, Core Health Care, Strides Arco Labs, Ipca Laboratories Ltd. are operating in Venezuela.

Economic Cooperation

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India and Venezuela have been discussing possibilities for India’s participation in the Venezuelan Hydrocarbons sector for some years. A bilateral MoU in late 2000 to provide ONGC Videsh Limited some oil fields for exploration was suspended by the Venezuelan side on account of OPEC oil quotas. In 2005, during President Chavez’s visit, OVL was offered possibilities of exploration for oil and gas in Venezuela.

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; science & technology and areas of infrastructure such as railways.

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Indian businesses have been active in Venezuela, particularly in the pharmaceutical sector and some companies are looking at the mineral sector for possible investments. Some Indian IT companies have also been active in Venezuela.

Cultural

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Performances of Indian dance and music troupes have been regularly sponsored through ICCR. Festivals of India were organized by the Embassy in Caracas in 2002, 2005 and 2006. The Embassy also organized Mini Indian Film Festivals in 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2004 & 2006 in collaboration with CINEMATECA (Venezuelan National Film Authority).

Venezuelan electronic and print media have been bringing out stories on India and documentaries/programmes on India.

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There are centres of Sai Baba in Venezuela and a number of spiritual groups such as ISCON, Brahma Kumaris, Radha Swami etc. besides Yoga centres. Ayurveda is becoming popular in Venezuela and has been recognized as an alternative system of medical treatment in a Health regulation by the Government in February, 2001.

Education

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The University of Los Andes in Merida regularly organizes seminars, symposia, etc. on Gandhiji and India-related subjects. It has set up a permanent course on the “Thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi.” Gandhijis autobiography has also been published in Spanish by the Embassy in collaboration with the University.

The University of Los Andes (ULA) has entered into bilateral Memorandum of Understanding with JNU in Delhi and Delhi University. There have been some exchanges of scholars and professors, particularly, through the Centre for Afro- Asian Studies of ULA. The first Study Course/Chair of any country in Venezuela was on “India in the 21st Century”, inaugurated by ULA in June, 2006.
There have been relatively few exchanges of students, largely because of the language difficulties.

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ITEC

In the past, utilization of ITEC slots has been rather slow and sporadic, mainly on account of language difficulties faced by Venezuelans. However, the five slots allocated by the Ministry of External Affairs for the year 2004-5 have been fully utilized. For 2005-06, ten slots were utilized. For 2006-07, 15 slots have been offered.

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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.

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