India, UAE sign two agreements, including one on currency swap

India and the United Arab Emirates have signed two agreements, including one on currency swap, during visit of the External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to Abu Dhabi. 

She yesterday held exhaustive discussions with her UAE counterpart Abdullah bin Zayed to step up bilateral cooperation in areas like security, defence, counter-terrorism, trade and energy. 

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar in a tweet said that both the leaders co-chaired the 12th session of the India-UAE Joint Commission Meeting for Economic and Technical Cooperation.

Currency Swap is such a pact between two countries that allows trading in their own currency and payments to import and export trade at pre-determined exchange



rate without bringing in a third benchmark currency like the US dollars.

The second agreement would enable both sides to undertake development projects in Africa. 

Mrs Swaraj also called on Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. He emphasized the special nature of India-UAE relations thanks to the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He stressed the importance that both nations attached values of peace and tolerance. 

Mrs Swaraj interacted with the Indian community and appreciated their contribution in enhancing relations with the UAE, which hosts a 33 lakh-strong Indian community - the largest number of Indians outside India.