In Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) unveiled the RuPay card service from Unified Payments Services (UPI). Social media users shared a video of Al Nahyan paying and marking the launch with a plastic card engraved with his name.
Starting on Tuesday, PM Modi will embark on a bilateral trip to the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
This comes about as a result of the two countries' agreement to link their instant payment systems, AANI (UAE) and UPI (India), in order to make cross-border transactions easier. During Modi's visit to the Gulf nation in July of last year, an agreement was made over the matter. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) created the instant payment system known as UPI in 2016.
"Our collaboration with the UAE has expanded greatly over the past nine years in a variety of areas, including commerce and investment, security and defense, food and energy security, and education. We have closer ties across cultures and amongst people than ever before, Modi stated in his farewell speech prior to the trip.
Dubai hosts the World Government Summit
Prior to this, the two presidents had important discussions to talk about and deepen their bilateral ties. PM Modi will also speak to a group of international leaders on Wednesday at the World Government Summit in Dubai as part of his tour. On the fringes of the summit, he will have bilateral talks with His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, the ruler of Dubai.
In addition, Modi will speak to the Indian diaspora from every Emirates of the United Arab Emirates at a special event on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi. He will also open the city's first Hindu temple.
To strengthen relations between the two nations, he will visit Qatar after his trip to the United Arab Emirates.
Seven nations presently accept UPI Services
Notably, RuPay card services were introduced in Sri Lanka and Mauritius one day before PM Modi's announcement of UPI. Among the luminaries participating in the virtual ceremony were Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das, President Ranil Wickremesinghe of Sri Lanka, and Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth of Mauritius.
Seven countries are currently accepting UPI payments as a result of the most recent advancement. France, the United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Bhutan, and Nepal are a few of these.
