India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are set to strengthen their economic ties by promoting Rupay and facilitating direct trade between the two countries in national currencies, Delhi's commerce and industry minister, Piyush Goyal, has said.
This initiative is part of a broader goal to expand bilateral trade to $100 billion, underlining the multifaceted nature of the India-UAE partnership, said Goyal on Wednesday. He spoke at the UAE-India Business Summit, held at the 10th edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit.
Goyal said that both countries were looking for newer propositions from industry and business to further strengthen their partnership.
"Bilateral trade has seen a notable increase under the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA)," Goyal explained.
Last year, the UAE signed an agreement with India to move away from the US dollar in trade payments and use local currencies, challenging the dollar's dominance in the global economy. In December, India confirmed that it made its first-ever payment in rupees for crude oil to the UAE.
New Delhi is in talks with many other countries and international exporters to accept the Indian currency for trade settlements.