New Delhi, Feb 5 (NationPress) Emphasizing that the protection of energy security is a paramount national concern, India stated on Thursday that the government's approach to diversifying energy sources is influenced by market realities and shifting international dynamics.

“With respect to India’s energy security or sourcing, the government has publicly affirmed on numerous occasions that safeguarding the energy security of 1.4 billion Indians is its utmost priority. The core of our strategy revolves around diversifying energy sources in alignment with prevailing market conditions and changing international dynamics. All decisions made by India are and will continue to be guided by this objective,” stated Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), during a weekly press briefing in New Delhi.

In response to an inquiry regarding India’s energy collaboration with Venezuela, the MEA spokesperson noted that the South American country has historically been a significant ally for India in the crude oil and trade sectors. He reiterated that New Delhi is open to evaluating the commercial viability of any crude supply options, including those from Venezuela.

“Regarding Venezuela, it has been a longstanding partner for us in energy, both in trade and investment. We were importing energy or crude oil from Venezuela until 2019-20, and subsequently, we had to halt imports. We resumed purchasing oil from Venezuela in 2023-2024, but had to stop again due to the reimposition of sanctions,” Jaiswal stated.

“As you may know, Indian public sector undertakings (PSUs) have formed a partnership with Venezuela’s National Oil Company, PDVSA, and our PSUs have been actively present in the country since 2008. In line with our commitment to energy security, India is open to exploring the commercial advantages of any crude supply options, including those from Venezuela,” he added.

Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a phone call from Venezuela's Acting President, Delcy Eloína Rodriguez Gomez, where both leaders discussed enhancing the partnership between their nations.

“I spoke with Acting President of Venezuela, Ms. Delcy Rodríguez. We agreed to further deepen and broaden our bilateral partnership in all sectors, aiming to elevate India-Venezuela relations to new heights in the coming years,” PM Modi shared on X after their conversation.

According to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), both leaders agreed to further expand and enrich the India-Venezuela partnership in all domains, including trade and investment, energy, digital technology, health, agriculture, and people-to-people connections.