India and Colombia to cooperate in hydrocarbons

Mumbai: India and Colombia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation in hydrocarbon sector.

India's Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Murli Deora signed the MoU with his Colombian counterpart, Hernan Martinez Torres, Minister of Energy and Mines of the Government of Colombia.

Deora said that the MoU provides an umbrella framework to facilitate and enhance bilateral cooperation in the hydrocarbon sector, and that the two countries have agreed to cooperate across the entire spectrum of the hydrocarbon sector, particularly in the areas of exploration and production of oil and gas, exchange of training and human resource development, and exchange of visits of professionals and technicians.

The two countries would set up a joint working group in the hydrocarbon sector for enhancing cooperation.

Hernan Martinez Torres, the Colombian minister of energy and mines said that the MoU between Colombia and India is significant, given the tremendous potential for Colombia's association with India in energy sector.

Torres said that this is the first of a series of MoUs with Indian authorities, which could be concluded between the two countries. He said that a similar MoU was considered in the mining sector in a meeting on 4 September, and that the MoU on hydrocarbons was initiation of an excellent process of cooperation between India and Colombia.