UAE, India Sign MoU to Settle Bilateral Trade Transactions in Local Currencies

President of the United Arab Emirates His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi met in Abu Dhabi yesteday.

At the meeting, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed for the establishment of a framework to promote the use of local currencies (INR-AED) for cross-border transactions by Governors of the respective Central Banks.

The leaders discussed that developing the Local Currency Settlement System between the two countries to settle bilateral trade is a reflection of mutual confidence.

The leaders expressed their interest in strengthening cooperation in the payment systems area by enabling integration between their instant payment systems to process cross-border transactions between the UAE and India more efficiently.

Such cooperation will also include the mutual acceptance of domestic card schemes by interlinking national card switches. Integration between these systems will enhance access to payment services for the benefit of the citizens and residents of the two countries.

The leaders reiterated their resolve to further strengthen investment ties between the two countries. In this context, they appreciated the efforts of the bilateral High-Level Joint Task Force of Investments.

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The leaders acknowledged the joint work on issues of climate change, particularly during India’s presidency of the G20 and the UAE’s presidency of COP28. They resolved to work together to make COP28 a success for all.

Prime Minister Modi thanked H.H Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan for his warm hospitality to his delegation. Prime Minister Modi is looking forward to the participation of H.H Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in the G20 Leaders’ Summit on 9-10 September 2023 in New Delhi.

The India-UAE relationship was recently formally elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during the visit of H.H Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to India in 2017.

During the meeting, Memorandum of Understanding for planning to establish Indian Institute of Technology – Delhi in Abu Dhabi was also signed.

The leaders expressed satisfaction that UAE-India relations have witnessed tremendous progress on all fronts. India-UAE trade rose to US$85 billion in 2022, making the UAE India’s third-largest trading partner for the year 2022-23 and India's second-largest export destination.

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