UAE, India’s central banks sign cooperation agreement on fintech, digital currencies

The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday signed an MoU with the Reserve Bank of India to promote innovation in financial products and services.

Under the agreement signed in Abu Dhabi, the two national central banks will collaborate on fintech, including on digital currencies and interoperability between the two entities.

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“CBUAE and RBI will jointly conduct proof-of-concept (PoC) and pilot(s) of bilateral CBDC bridge to facilitate cross-border CBDC transactions of remittances and trade,” the state-run Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported.

The agreement also covers technical cooperation and knowledge sharing along the same lines, including new trends, regulations and guidelines.

“The MoU is expected to promote joint experimentation with regard to CBDCs and facilitate other digital innovation initiatives between the CBUAE and the RBI,” the report said.

“This bilateral engagement in testing cross-border use cases of CBDCs is expected to reduce costs, increase the efficiency of cross-border transactions and promote economic ties between India and the UAE,” it added.

Last month, the two countries marked one year since the signing of the landmark UAE-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. It was the UAE’s first bilateral agreement and India’s first with a nation in the MENA region.

Alongside marking the first anniversary of the agreement, the UAE Chapter of the UAE-India Business Council in Dubai was launched.

The UAE-India Business Council (UIBC) was established in September 2015 in New Delhi to serve as a catalyst for collaboration between the respective nations’ private sectors and enable UAE businesses to seamlessly expand their reach into India’s growing market.

The UAE chapter, in turn, will support Indian businesses that take full advantage of the many benefits and incentives offered by the UAE’s globally competitive ecosystem.

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