India and the UAE on Tuesday signed currency swap agreement to boost trade and investment ties between the two countries.

The development came during the visit of Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to Abu Dhabi to take part in the ministerial meeting of the 12th session of the UAE-India Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) and held exhaustive discussions with Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE's minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation.

"Advancing the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership EAM @SushmaSwaraj & Foreign Minister Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan co-chaired 12th India-UAE #JCM. Held exhaustive discussions on cooperation in energy, security, trade, investments, space, defence & consular, among others," Raveesh Kumar, India's external affairs ministry spokesperson tweeted.

He also said two documents were signed during the visit including an agreement on currency swap and Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for Development Cooperation in Africa.

Through the currency swap agreement, both India and the UAE can make payments in their respective currency to boost and trade investment without the involvement of a third currency like dollar. Clarifying the currency swap agreement Indian embassy in Abu Dhabi said the swap is for an amount of Dh2 billion or 35 billion Indian rupees, depending on the central bank which is requesting the amount.

"The bilateral currency swap agreement between India and UAE is expected to reduce the dependency on hard currencies like US dollar," Indian embassy said.