As Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Abu Dhabi on Saturday to strengthen cooperation in areas such as trade, energy, and climate action, India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed agreements on trade settlement in national currencies and the establishment of a real-time link for cross-border transactions.
MoU between India and UAE
During his official visit to Abu Dhabi, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
Following Modi’s arrival in Abu Dhabi from a visit to France, educational authorities from both countries signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the establishment of an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Delhi campus.
The UAE has played a special role in India’s recent efforts to increase its engagement with West Asian states in areas ranging from trade to security.
The UAE is home to 3.5 million Indian expatriates, who make up approximately 30% of the country’s population. The signing of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in February 2022 boosted bilateral trade.
Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan met Modi at the airport upon his arrival in Abu Dhabi.
He then met with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the presidential palace of Qasr Al Watan.
Modi and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed witnessed the signing of two Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) between the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Central Bank of the UAE for the establishment of a framework for using national currencies for cross-border transactions and cooperation in interlinking payment and messaging systems, as well as another MoU between India’s education ministry and Abu Dhabi authorities for the establishment of the new IIT-Delhi campus.
Modi described the agreements between the two central banks as a “very important aspect of India-UAE cooperation” in a tweet, saying they paved the way for increased economic collaboration and simplified international financial interactions.
Modi and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed discussed bilateral cooperation in a variety of areas, including trade, investment, fintech, energy, renewables, climate action, higher education, and people-to-people ties. “Our nations are working together on so many issues aimed at making our planet better,” Modi said.
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