Against the backdrop of the 2026 World Food Forum hosted in Rome, high-level bilateral diplomacy between the Dominican Republic and Venezuela took a major step forward this week, as Dominican President Luis Abinader sat down for formal talks with Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodríguez. The closed-door meeting covered a wide range of mutually beneficial topics, from cross-border consular services to energy trade, tourism collaboration, and even cultural and sporting exchange.
One of the most concrete announcements to emerge from the talks is the Dominican Republic’s plan to establish a new consulate within Venezuelan territory. In statements following the meeting, Abinader emphasized that the new diplomatic outpost will streamline administrative processes for travelers, students, and business people from both nations, strengthening people-to-people ties while upgrading the delivery of consular support to citizens living or traveling abroad.
Energy cooperation emerged as a core priority on the meeting’s agenda. The two leaders explored a landmark proposal that would see the Dominican Republic purchase refined petroleum products directly from Venezuela, including the AC30 fuel widely used in domestic transportation and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for residential and commercial use. Moving forward, technical working groups from the Dominican Petroleum Refinery (Refidomsa) and Venezuela’s state-owned oil giant Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) will lead negotiations to work out pricing, supply logistics, and contractual details for the potential direct trade agreement.
Rodríguez used the occasion to highlight the warm reception Venezuela has received from the Dominican government in recent months. She commended Abinader’s remarks delivered during the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) forum, where he officially announced the Dominican Republic’s removal from the UN FAO global Hunger Map – a milestone in the Caribbean nation’s decades-long fight against food insecurity. She also extended explicit gratitude for the Dominican Republic’s rapid response to the recent earthquake that struck parts of Venezuela, noting that Dominican rescue teams and medical personnel were deployed to the affected region within hours of the disaster, providing critical support to local relief efforts.
To match the Dominican Republic’s expansion of consular presence, Rodríguez confirmed that Venezuela will soon appoint a new full-time consul to its existing representation in Santo Domingo, the Dominican capital, to improve support for the large community of Venezuelan citizens residing in the country. She also reaffirmed Venezuela’s interest in deepening bilateral collaboration across both the energy and tourism sectors, noting that stronger ties could open new opportunities for reciprocal travel and investment.
In a lighter, collaborative note, the leaders also broached the topic of sporting relations between the two baseball-mad nations. The pair discussed plans to organize a high-profile friendly baseball miniseries between the Dominican and Venezuelan national teams, which has been tentatively branded “The Rematch” in reference to the long competitive history between the two top baseball powerhouses. Both sides have expressed enthusiasm for moving the proposal forward as a way to boost people-to-people connection.
Looking ahead, both governments confirmed that ongoing technical discussions will continue, particularly around the proposed direct petroleum purchase agreement, with the goal of turning preliminary agreements into actionable cooperation in the coming months.