India and the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday signed a currency swap agreement in a further sign of advancing strategic cooperation between the two countries.

The agreement will enable businesses from both countries to trade in each other’s currencies without the dollar or other international currencies.

Officials of the two central banks agreed the deal, which involves the Indian rupee and the UAE dirham, said a statement by the Indian embassy. The agreement was signed after the 12th India-UAE joint commission meeting co-chaired by India’s External Affairs minister, Sushma Swaraj and the UAE’s Foreign Minister, Sheikh Abdulla bin Zayed al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi.

Bilateral trade between the two countries stood at around $52 billion in 2017, according to figures from the Indian embassy in the UAE. In 2015, China’s central bank extended a currency swap agreement with the UAE Central bank. (Reporting by Stanley Carvalho; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg)