India’s Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, has called on Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to work closely with India to advance a balanced, stable and predictable global energy market.
Puri made the call during the seventh High-Level Meeting of the OPEC-India Energy Dialogue, held on Sept. 22, 2026, in New Delhi.
Discussions focused on oil market stability, energy security and the importance of adequate and timely investment across the oil industry.
The two sides reviewed short-, medium- and long-term energy outlooks, highlighting India’s growing role in global economic expansion and energy demand.
Puri said India and OPEC shared a complementary and mutually beneficial relationship and thanked OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais for his contribution to strengthening the partnership.
He said India valued its longstanding engagement with OPEC and its member countries, which had contributed to greater mutual understanding and cooperation on key energy issues.
“As one of the world’s fastest-growing major economies, India will remain an important driver of global energy demand in the decades ahead,” Puri said.
“A sustained dialogue between producers and consumers is essential to support investment, strengthen energy resilience and ensure reliable energy supplies for global growth and development,” he added.
Al Ghais said dialogue with India was a priority for OPEC because of the country’s growing importance in the global energy landscape.
“Dialogue with India is a priority for OPEC because we recognize India’s importance within the current global energy landscape and the fact that this importance will only increase in the decades ahead,” he said.
He noted that the OPEC-India Energy Dialogue had been running for 11 years since its launch in New Delhi in 2015.
Al Ghais commended India’s “balanced, realistic and pragmatic approach” to addressing energy challenges, saying many of India’s energy priorities were also priorities for OPEC.
He also praised the Indian government’s commitment to international cooperation and dialogue, saying diplomacy was important in addressing global challenges.
The meeting reviewed progress under the dialogue, including cooperation at the technical level, and both sides underscored the importance of deepening energy cooperation.
The two sides agreed to hold the eighth High-Level Meeting of the OPEC-India Energy Dialogue in Vienna, Austria, on a mutually convenient date.
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