India signs MoU with UAE to set up IIT campus in Abu Dhabi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi concluded his productive visit to France and United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Saturday, where he held talks with President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

During his visit Modi signed three MoUs in the banking sectors. The MoUs in the banking sector pertain to the use of local currencies for cross-border transactions and cooperation for interlinking their payments and messaging systems.

While the MoU in education sector signed between the Ministry of Education of the Government of India, the Department of Education and Knowledge of Abu Dhabi, and the Indian Institute Of Technology Delhi relates to setting up an IIT campus in Abu Dhabi.

Shaktikanta Das, governor of the Reserve Bank of India, and Khaled Mohamed Balama, governor of the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) allowing for the use of local currencies for cross-border transactions. It covers all current account transactions as well as capital account transactions that are allowed. This game plan would likewise advance speculations and settlements between the two nations.

The two central banks likewise consented to participate on connecting their Fast Payment System (FPSs) – Unified Payments Interface (UPI) of India with the Instant Payment Platform (IPP) of UAE, connecting the individual Card Switches (RuPay switch and UAESWITCH) and exploring the linking of payments messaging systems.  The UPI-IPP linkage will enable the users in either country to make fast, convenient, safe, and cost-effective cross-border funds transfers. The linking of Card Switches will facilitate the mutual acceptance of domestic cards and the processing of card transactions.

The Prime Minister termed MoUs signed in the banking sector as a very important aspect of India-UAE cooperation saying it will pave the way for enhanced economic collaboration and make international financial interactions simpler.

Prime Minister Modi and President  Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan also held delegation-level talks and a one-on-one meeting.  Discussions touched upon a broad range of areas of bilateral cooperation including trade and investment, fintech, energy, renewables, climate action, higher education and people-to-people ties.