India, Jan. 30 -- justify;">Venezuela's acting president Delcy Rodriguez dialled Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday to discuss the deepening of bilateral cooperation, including in energy, trade and investment.

This was the first contact from the Venezuelan side with India at the leadership level since the US launched a military strike on Caracas on January 3 and kidnapped President Nicolas Maduro on drug, weapons and narco-terrorism charges.

"Spoke with Acting President of Venezuela, Ms. Delcy Rodriguez. We agreed to further deepen and expand our bilateral partnership in all areas, with a shared vision of taking India-Venezuela relations to new heights in the years ahead," Modi said on social media after the phone call.

Modi receiv...