NEW DELHI: India and the UAE discussed a mechanism for carrying out bilateral trade in national currencies on Tuesday. This was among the discussions that took place in the 10th meeting of the India-UAE high-level joint task force on investments
Referring to the ongoing discussions between the Reserve Bank of India and the Central Bank of the UAE on the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) as a common digital payments platform, both sides agreed to continue discussions.
The meeting, held in Mumbai, was co-chaired by Commerce and Industry Minister, Piyush Goyal, and Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Member of the Executive Council of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. “In the previous meeting of the Joint Task Force, we had decided to fast-track negotiations on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), and we finalised the agreement in unprecedented 88 days. I am sure the discussions we had today on mutually beneficial areas like food security and bilateral trade in national currencies will also see a similar thrust from both sides,” Goyal said. The India-UAE relations are witnessing unprecedented momentum. “We have many opportunities for cooperation and increasing investments, especially in key sectors such as infrastructure and technology, especially fintech,’’ Goyal said.
The Joint task force was established in 2013 to promote trade, investment and economic ties between the UAE and India. This was the first meeting of the Joint Task Force since the signing of the CEPA and unveiling of the Joint UAE-India Vision Statement in February 2022. “Since the previous meeting of the Joint Task Force in October 2021, several significant milestones have been reached that serve to cement the close, growing and strategic relationship between India and the UAE,” said Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Meanwhile, during the course of the meeting, discussions also took place on ways to enhance bilateral investments in key sectors of food security, manufacturing, infrastructure, energy and technology.
The UAE agreed that the Department of Economic Development of Abu Dhabi will explore this area of cooperation with the counterparties in India in order to agree to a mutually beneficial implementation approach. Both sides reviewed the status of the negotiations of the India-UAE Bilateral Investment Treaty. Twelve rounds of negotiations have so far been conducted.
