The India-UAE rupee-dirham deal signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Abu Dhabi is bilateral, and does not carry any agenda to “de-dollarise” the global economy, said the United Arab Emirate’s Ambassador to India. Speaking to The Hindu after Mr. Modi returned from his meeting with UAE President Mohammad bin Zayed al Nahyan on Saturday, Ambassador Abdulnasser Alshaali said that the deal would significantly ease the path for trade between India and the UAE by lowering transaction costs and making it easier to convert the currency. When asked about whether India would avail the agreement to resolve its problems in payments to Russia in Dirhams, he said the agreement was not “multilateral” or about “third countries”..
“This is a purely bilateral matter between the UAE and India. We have decided that we want to make sure that there are more options for traders, exporters, importers to set up their trade. And it’s basically up to them how they want it to work,” Mr. Alshaali said in an interview here.
