Dmitry Chernyshenko holds a working meeting with Vice President of the Council for Planning, Minister of the Popular Power for Planning of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Ricardo Menéndez
Dmitry Chernyshenko holds a working meeting with Vice President of the Council for Planning, Minister of the Popular Power for Planning of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Ricardo Menéndez
Dmitry Chernyshenko holds a working meeting with Vice President of the Council for Planning, Minister of the Popular Power for Planning of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Ricardo Menéndez
Dmitry Chernyshenko holds a working meeting with Vice President of the Council for Planning, Minister of the Popular Power for Planning of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Ricardo Menéndez
Dmitry Chernyshenko holds a working meeting with Vice President of the Council for Planning, Minister of the Popular Power for Planning of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Ricardo Menéndez
Dmitry Chenyshenko holds a working meeting with Deputy Prime Minister of Cuba, Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment of the Republic of Cuba Oscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga
Dmitry Chernyshenko holds a working meeting with Vice President of the Council for Planning, Minister of the Popular Power for Planning of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Ricardo Menéndez
Co-Chair of the Russia-Venezuela Intergovernmental High-Level Commission, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko held a working meeting with Vice President of the Council for Planning, Minister of the Popular Power for Planning of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Ricardo Menéndez on the sidelines of the 29th St Petersburg International Economic Forum.
Dmitry Chernyshenko congratulated Ricardo Menéndez on his appointment as the commission’s Venezuelan co-chair and went on to express confidence that his proficiency and effectiveness in this new position would help the two countries reinforce their strategic partnership.
“Based on their long-standing friendship, solidarity and mutual respect, Moscow and Caracas have been proactive in advancing their relations at all levels. The Russia-Venezuela High-Level Intergovernmental Commission has become an essential mechanism through its continued commitment to stepping up project-based initiatives. In 2024, we signed a plan for expanding cooperation between Russia and Venezuela in its key aspects until 2030. It contains 65 initiatives across 20 domains. We went on to set forth the target indicator in terms of fulfilling this plan at the High-Level Commission’s 19th meeting by undertaking to have $400 million in trade by 2030. This would secure a spot for Venezuela among Russia’s top 10 trading partners in the Latin American region. In 2025, there was upward momentum in our trade with a nine percent increase to $217 million,” the Russian Deputy Prime Minister said.
He went on to say that imports from Venezuela increased by a factor of three. Major Russian importers are looking forward to buying more cocoa, coffee and seafood from Venezuela. In late 2025, the United Confectioners holding launched two cocoa pre-processing sites in Venezuela’s Sucre state. The two countries are working on opening their respective markets to animal products, which is expected to have a positive bearing on bilateral trade.
The project to localise insulin production in Venezuela is also expected to continue. The Russia-Venezuela Centre for Infectious Disease Research and Prevention is up and running. In 2025, it received research equipment, diagnostic preparations and two mobile laboratories. It has already carried out over 40,000 tests and joint studies.
Kamaz truck manufacturer remains committed to setting up an assembly line. Installed last year in Venezuela, the GLONASS ground station has been operating according to its design and purpose.
“The commission also serves as a platform for working together in education, culture and sports. Russia provided 200 university scholarships to young people from Venezuela for enrolling in Russian higher education institutions. We opened five Russian language centres in Venezuela over the past three years. There is still untapped potential in the tourism sector. There are no legislative roadblocks for operating direct flights between our two countries. Venezuela has been presenting its potential as a travel destination for the second year in a row at the Let’s Travel! International Tourism Forum. Venezuela will have the biggest stand at the festival’s expo,” Dmitry Chernyshenko pointed out.
The Russia – Venezuela business dialogue for travel industry representatives from the two countries is scheduled to take place on June 12, 2026.
In his remarks, Ricardo Menéndez talked about the importance of discussing Russia-Venezuela ties in their various aspects, as well as drafting an agenda for new projects. He placed a special emphasis on Kamaz’s projects and efforts to produce pharmaceutical products locally.
“We have a strategic vision for our relations with Russia, and are working on the current endeavours while also exploring new opportunities. The President has identified specific objectives for the commission, and we are working on achieving them,” he pointed out.
In addition to this, Dmitry Chernyshenko in his capacity of co-chair of the Russia-Cuba Commission for Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation held a working meeting with Deputy Prime Minister of Cuba, Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment of the Republic of Cuba Oscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga.
