New Delhi: India and the United Arab Emirates have begun settling bilateral commerce in their respective national currencies. India’s leading refiner is making payment in rupees for the purchase of a million barrels of oil from the Middle Eastern nation, the Indian government said on Monday.
According to a statement from the Indian embassy in the UAE, Indian Oil Corp made a payment to Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC).
The transaction comes after one involving the sale of 25 kg of gold from a UAE gold exporter to a buyer in India for around 128.4 million rupees ($1.54 million).
In July, India signed an agreement with the UAE allowing it to settle trade in rupees rather than dollars, boosting India’s efforts to reduce transaction costs by doing away with dollar conversions.
In order to facilitate cross-border money transfers easier, the UAE and India also decided to establish a real-time payment link during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the UAE.
In 2022/23, Bilateral trade between India and UAE was $84.5 billion. India is keen to encourage such local currency arrangements with other nations in an effort to boost exports in the face of sluggish global trade.
