In a historic agreement, India and the United Arab Emirates have embarked on bilateral trade in oil, conducting transactions using their respective local currencies.
Indian Oil Corp, a leading Indian oil refinery, executed a payment in rupees for the purchase of one million barrels of oil from the UAE, as confirmed by the Indian government.
This development follows a prior transaction involving the sale of gold from the Emirates to an Indian buyer valued at approximately 128.4 million rupees, roughly equivalent to 1.54 million dollars.
The shift to conducting transactions in rupees instead of dollars became feasible after India and the UAE signed an agreement aimed at reducing transaction costs by eliminating the need for dollar conversion.
According to the latest report, the annual trade balance between India and the UAE totals 84.5 billion dollars.
Photo source: WAM