India, UAE step up efforts to expand re-dirham trade

India and UAE are stepping up efforts to expand the Local Currency Settlement System launched in July 2023, focusing on onboarding more banks and simplifying procedures to boost rupee-dirham invoicing. Over 15% of bilateral trade has been invoiced in local currencies between July 2023 and March 2026, though adoption remains concentrated in oil and precious metals, with dirham invoicing exceeding rupee invoicing. The push supports India's broader objective of internationalising the rupee and reducing dollar dependence, with bilateral trade crossing $100 billion in each of the last two years.