India and the UAE are accelerating efforts to make cross-border trade and investment smoother by expanding the use of their local currencies and linking their payment systems. The initiatives were discussed at the 14th India-UAE High Level Joint Task Force on Investments.
Under the local-currency framework, exporters and importers can invoice and settle transactions in Indian rupees and UAE dirhams. The countries are also working towards developing an INR-AED foreign exchange market, which could support direct currency settlement and reduce dependence on intermediary currencies.
India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is also being linked with the UAE’s Instant Payment Platform. The two sides are exploring integration between RuPay and UAE’s card network, UAESWITCH, along with cooperation between their financial messaging systems.
The initiatives are aimed at reducing transaction costs and settlement times while improving access to cross-border payments. Discussions also covered investments in energy, infrastructure, logistics, technology, artificial intelligence, space, food security, agriculture and startups.
India-UAE bilateral trade reached $101.25 billion in 2025-26, including $76.2 billion in non-oil trade. Both countries are targeting $200 billion in bilateral trade by 2032.
