The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) announced that it will implement the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) strategy titled 'Digital Dirham'.
According to Arabianbusiness, the CBUAE held a joint signing ceremony with G42 Cloud and R3 and appointed these two organizations as infrastructure and technology providers respectively. The first phase of the CBDC Strategy will focus on three main elements: the soft launch of mBridge, a proof-of-concept study for bilateral CBDC bridges with India, and a proof-of-concept study for local CBDC issuance covering wholesale-retail usage.
The first phase will reportedly take place over the next 12 to 15 months. The CBUAE has undertaken several CBDC initiatives in recent years, including the "Aber" Project with the Central Bank of Saudi Arabia in 2020.
