NEW DELHI, Oct. 6 -- Ecuador is in talks to increase supplies of crude oil, copper and critical minerals to India and buy medical products from state-run HLL Lifecare Ltd, Fernando Buchelli, the South American country's ambassador to India, said in an interview.

The plan involves inviting Indian companies to invest in these sectors in Ecuador, which has 8.273 billion barrels of crude oil reserves, the 18th-largest in the world. Ecuador is in talks to sign agreements with India's ministry of mines, the health ministry and HLL Lifecare, said Buchelli.

India, the world's third-largest energy buyer, has been scouting for energy supplies beyond West Asia in the wake of the war in the region and increasing imports from South American countrie...