India’s NPCI And UAE’s Al Etihad Payments Join Forces At 11th HLTF Meting

Piyush Goyal is co-chairing a meeting with UAE’s Sheikh Hamid bin Zayed Al Nahyan to discuss investments and cross-border transactions between the 2 countries.

Piyush Goyal is on a two-day visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) today, i.e. October 5-6, 2023. He is the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution, and Textiles.

Piyush Goyal is co-chairing the 11th meeting of the India-UAE High-Level Task Force (HLTF) alongside a delegation from the UAE led by Sheikh Hamid bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

As you know, Sheikh Hamid is an Emirati businessman and managing director of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. He is also a member of the Executive Council of Abu Dhabi.

The Ambassador of India, Sanjay Sudhir, and The Ambassador of the UAE, Abdulnasir Alshalali will be present in the meeting.

UAE’s Sheikh Hamid bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Managing Director and CEO of ADQ, and the Minister of Investments, Mohammad Hassan Alsuwaidi, Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, and Khalid Mohammed Balama, the Governor of the Central Bank of the UAE, will also be present at this 11th HLTF meeting.

Both delegations are discussing issues and challenges related to investments made by UAE companies in India and Indian companies in the UAE.

The meeting is also reviewing the outcomes achieved through the previous work of the HLTF and continues to explore ways to make investment in mutually beneficial sectors conducive to economic growth.

During this two-day trip, the Minister of Commerce will also hold bilateral meetings in the fields of general trade, investment discussions. They will cooperate to strengthen relations between India and the UAE.

The establishment of the HLTF in 2013 has played a significant role in enhancing trade, investment, and economic relations between India and the UAE.

In recent years, the HLTF has evolved into an effective platform to address major obstacles that companies on both sides may face.

This meeting marks the first HLTF meeting after the celebration of the first anniversary of the signing of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between India and the UAE, signifying the importance of this economic partnership.

An official stated today that India’s NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India) is going to enter into an agreement with Al Etihad Payments in the UAE, providing assistance in cross-border transactions.

A MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) is being signed to develop a domestic card system for the United Arab Emirates based on India’s RuPay debit and credit card suite.

The UAE also wants to develop a domestic card system in its country based on India’s RuPay debit and credit card stack, and NPCI will assist in this effort. For this purpose, an MoU will be signed between the two countries.

Also Read:- Canada Seeks ‘Private Talks’ With India To Defuse Diplomatic Issues

It’s worth noting that during the visit to Abu Dhabi from October 5th to 6th, India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, is going to sign this MoU.

India’s NPCI had also made an agreement with France in 2022. Both countries had agreed to use a fast and safe online payment system called “Lyra.” This helped a lot to make it easier for people in both countries to pay for things online.

Also in 2022, NPCI made an agreement with Singapore’s PayNow. This helped people in both countries to send money to each other easily.

NPCI is also talking about starting this payment system in the United States, Europe, and Western Asia. India’s NPCI and the technology of UPI is helping countries to send money across borders.

It is good to see that India and the UAE are now collaborating to make their citizens’ lives easier through various deals, including enhanced payment systems.

This will also help both countries reduce their reliance on the monopoly of the US dollar and promote the use of their own currencies.