India and UAE may explore connecting instant payment platforms

This was the 14th India-UAE Joint Committee co-chaired by Indian Foreign Minister Dr S. Jaishankar and UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi on Thursday in the context of the meeting.

“Both ministers pointed to the possibility of connecting instant payment platforms between the two countries, such as through the United Payments Interface (UPI) in India,” India’s foreign ministry said in a statement after the meeting on Friday. Minister Vinay Kwatra and UAE Minister of State for External Trade Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi.

UPI has been a game changer in the architecture of India’s financial system, with India and Singapore agreeing to link their respective fast payment systems – UPI and PayNow. Additionally, Mint earlier reported that Russia is exploring opening up alternative payment channels with India, including linking UPI with Russian banks’ Faster Payment System (FPS). India and the UAE signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in February this year, in which India’s total exports to the UAE reached US$5.4 billion in the May-June period.

As part of the growing cooperation between the two countries, the plan also involves the establishment of an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in the UAE. This will be the first time an IIT campus has appeared on foreign shores and has been articulated earlier by the Federal Government’s New National Education Policy (NEP).

“Discussions on the establishment of an IIT in the UAE have also progressed with the establishment of a joint working group between the two institutions,” the statement added.

The meeting comes against a backdrop of growing alignment of India’s and UAE’s interests in the region. Despite tensions raised by two BJP speakers’ remarks about the Prophet Muhammad, the scope of cooperation between India and the UAE shows that the relationship retains both important strengths and a shared vision for the future of the bilateral relationship .

“A team of government and private sector representatives from India and the UAE recently visited Kenya and Tanzania to identify opportunities for joint projects in the health sector,” the statement said.

Top of the agenda is trade and investment. In light of the recent signing of CEPA by India and the UAE, the two sides reaffirmed the US$100 billion target set for bilateral trade and investment over the next five years. In 2021-22, the bilateral trade relationship will reach $72 billion.

Energy is also in focus, as the two sides “stressed the need for two-way investment”, with specific mentions of renewable energy and green hydrogen. This follows the focus of the I2U2 partnership, which hopes to expand energy cooperation, including by investing in a 300 MW hybrid renewable energy project in Gujarat.

India and the UAE have deep energy security ties, with the state-run Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) the sole partner to date in India’s Strategic Crude Oil Reserve programme. In addition, Abu Dhabi-based International Holding Co. PJSC has conducted a joint venture with Adani Group companies – Adani Green Energy Ltd, Adani Transmission Ltd and Adani Enterprises Ltd, while UAE sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co. invests in Tata Power Renewables. $2 billion investment. In addition, Mubadala’s Masdar has invested in Hero Future Energy Sdn Bhd.limited company

Discussions also touched on India-UAE efforts to expand food security, following the UAE’s pledge to invest $2 billion in a “food park” in India to help tackle food insecurity in the Middle East and South Asia.

CEPA followed with the formation of the I2U2 group, which includes India, Israel, the UAE and the US, to promote cooperation in a range of policy areas including health, energy, transport, water, food security and space

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