New Delhi, Sept. 22 -- Amid the ongoing challenges related to geopolitical threats, uncertainties in the supply chain and volatility in the energy sector, India and OPEC, on Tuesday, have decided to enhance their collaboration to ensure stability and reliability in the global oil market.
This collaboration was agreed upon during the Seventh High-Level Meeting of the OPEC-India Energy Dialogue here in New Delhi, chaired by Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais. The importance of this event lies in the fact that, as one of the world's rapidly growing economies and a major consumer of energy resources, India is striving to ensure reliable access to energy while OPEC is of critical importance in the oil market.
In addition, both parties discussed issues related to oil market stability and energy security and the need for adequate investments in the oil industry in a timely manner. In addition, the outlook for the energy sector in the short-, medium-, and long-term period and growing energy demand of India were discussed as well.
The involvement of OPEC becomes even more crucial in light of the present-day uncertainties. In 2025, OPEC member countries exported an average of 19.85 million barrels of crude oil per day, including 14.79 million barrels of crude oil per day exported to Asia, which highlights the significance of the organisation for the region's energy security.
Furthermore, OPEC has been consistently stressing the need for a collaborative effort to ensure oil market stability, as in 2026, OPEC+ countries were keeping the monitoring mechanism of the market conditions and production.
In relation to India, the involvement becomes strategically crucial considering the growing needs for energy in the country and its dependency on external supplies of crude. As per OPEC's forecasts, the organisation was anticipating the continuous growth of energy demand in the world, as well as investment in the future needs.
Speaking at the meeting, Puri stated that the cooperation of India and OPEC is complementary and mutually beneficial.
"As one of the fastest-growing major economies in the world, India will continue to be an important factor driving global energy demand in the coming decades," Puri said, emphasising that continuous dialogue between producers and consumers is essential to foster investments and improve energy resilience as well as energy security for sustainable global growth and development.
Puri also thanked OPEC for its efforts to bring stability and transparency to the international energy market in times of uncertainty and volatility and urged for more cooperation between India and OPEC for achieving balance, stability and predictability in the energy market.
For his part, Al Ghais described the engagement with India as a top priority for OPEC due to its growing significance in the international energy scene. He referred to the fact that the OPEC-India Energy Dialogue is now celebrating its 11th anniversary since its inception in New Delhi in 2015.
The OPEC Secretary General also appreciated India's "balanced, realistic and pragmatic" approach to energy issues and noted that many of the energy concerns of India are similar to those of OPEC.
The present meeting thus becomes significant not merely as part of routine discussions between producers and consumers of energy.
Given the increasing openness of the oil market to geopolitics, the possibility of disruptions of seaborne trade, and uncertainties regarding future investments, the dialogue between one of the world's largest consumers of oil and the biggest producers' association has become an institutionalised means of tackling energy security concerns.
Indeed, OPEC has even stated that disruptions in energy infrastructure or in international seaborne transportation can cause instability in energy markets.
Both parties discussed the achievements of the dialogue and the importance of further energy cooperation.
Both parties have decided to convene the Eighth High-Level Meeting of the OPEC-India Energy Dialogue in Vienna, Austria, on a mutually agreed-upon date.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.