Russia, Venezuela Sign Off 42 Bilateral Cooperation Agreements: Analysis

Russia and Venezuela have signed 42 bilateral agreements following the 19th session of the Russia-Venezuela High Level Intergovernmental Commission, (HLIC) co-chaired by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko and Venezuelan Executive Vice President Delcy Rodriguez.

These agreements include numerous areas of cooperation, including mining, transport, nuclear energy and joint medical research.

Chernyshenko said “The Russian side commends the results of the work that has been done and the agreements that have been reached. We have outlined our path forward and determined our next steps on all key aspects of the bilateral agenda.”

Venezuela is under intense sanctions and other pollical pressure from the United States, with this now substantially impacting their oil export sector. The country possesses nearly20% of global oil reserves, however Venezuelan crude oil is sour and needs refining, facilities the US can provide but has withdrawn from, while also denying exports to Venezuela of much-needed equipment for its own refineries. As a result, Venezuelan oil exports are at historic lows, forcing the country into an economic crisis with the intent being that US refiners and oil companies can invest into Venezuela on the cheap when a pro-US government is installed.

However, Russia also has significant oil industry experience, including in refining and will be looking to evaluate how to assist the Venezuelan oil sector.

Russia’s state energy giant Rosneft has been playing a central role, forming joint ventures with Venezuela’s national oil company (PDVSA) across multiple oil and gas fields. In most of these joint projects, Rosneft deliberately maintained a 40% ownership ceiling, reflecting Moscow’s stated respect for Venezuela’s oil sovereignty and the political symbolism of “partnership rather than dominance.”

Following Venezuela’s economic crisis, Russia effectively became Caracas’s credit lifeline. Through mechanisms such as prepayment for oil deliveries, loan restructuring, and debt-for-oil agreements, Moscow has cushioned Venezuela’s fiscal collapse while extending its influence. The 2025 Joint Strategic Partnership Initiative between the two nations reaffirmed their intent to coordinate under the OPEC+ framework, avoid predatory competition, and jointly stabilize global energy markets. For Russia, OPEC+ offers a critical multilateral platform to offset Western sanctions; for Venezuela, it provides both legitimacy and economic survival.

Following the discussions, Venezuelan Vice President Rodríguez, who hosted the session, said that “42 new agreements have been achieved across 10 areas of the existing HLIC, and the meeting has been very positive. The Venezuelan parliament has extended the alliance that Venezuela has with the joint ventures Petroperijá and Petroboqueronby by another 15 years. Three other joint ventures—Petromonagas, Petrovictoria, and Petropiar—are maintaining satisfactory production levels. Cooperation on gas, with a Russian company for gas export and production, has also progressed.”

Rodríguez also thanked Russia for maintaining collaboration within the OPEC+ framework, which brings together not only the organization’s member countries but also oil-producing nations that are not part of it, and which “now form a solid bloc in defending oil prices, working to maintain balance in the international market as well as the economic stability of producers and consumers.”

In other areas, Rodríguez also referred to cooperation in agro-industry, which has already been underway in the cocoa sector and now, with seafood products, a special protocol is being signed. She indicated that the goal is to increase bilateral trade in this sector to US$400 million.

Regarding the health sector, the Venezuelan vice president reported the signing of a protocol for cooperation on cancer vaccine, stating that “For us, this scientific breakthrough by Russia will be one of Russia’s contributions to humanity, and we want Venezuela to be there, accompanying this great historic step that has been taken.” Regarding insulin, she specified that by 2026 Venezuela will be producing enough for its own needs, thanks to technology transfer by Russia.

Rodriguez also announced agreements on strategic minerals, saying that “there is extraordinary news for the people of both Venezuela and Russia. We are signing agreements for strategic minerals and for exploration and extraction in Venezuela’s Orinoco Mining Arc (AMO), which holds one of the world’s largest reserves of gold and diamonds.”

The AMO, which covers 12% of Venezuelan territory, contains significant deposits of gold, diamonds, coltan, iron ore, bauxite, silver, uranium, nickel, and phosphates.