India, for the first time beyond Bhutan and Nepal, will invest in a foreign country—Iran—through its own national currency rupee to bypass any trouble arising out of impending US sanctions against Iran, which bars the country from dealing in dollars and euros.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani are expected to put a mechanism in place for this purpose when they meet on Saturday, Indian newspaper The Economic Times reported on Friday.
According to Indian news agency Asian News International, the decision to invest in rupee was implemented last month to stimulate trade and investment between the two countries..
The Indian investments in rupees will get converted into Iranian rial through banking mechanism allowing investments from India, including in the Chabahar Port complex.