Appreciating the demonetisation move, Dean of African Missions Alem Tsehaye Woldemariam today said there were some problems but government responded very quickly and missions have been allowed to withdraw Rs 50,000 per week from banks.
"I appreciate it much... I like the way they did it. I welcome the move if it benefits people at large," Alem told PTI.
Replying to question on difficulties faced by mission, he said, "As far as missions are concerned what can I say personally is I have no issues. The government has allowed withdrawal of cash up to Rs 24000 per week for an individual and Rs 50,000 for a mission per week."
He added that earlier there were some problems but government responded very quickly.
Earlier, there were reports that dean of diplomatic corps had sought the External Affairs Ministry's help following the currency recall move as many diplomats were running short of cash and missions were also receiving calls from tourists and delegates visiting the country.
The matter was referred to Department of Economic Affairs which in turn constituted an inter-ministerial team to look into it.
Nepal and Bhutan, two major recipients of developmental aid from India, had also taken up the issue of demonetisation of high-value currency bills and the impact it could have on financial assistance to them.
Both Nepal Rashtra Bank and the Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan were in touch with the RBI regarding facilitation of collection and deposit of old notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000.
Bhutan and Nepal are the only two countries which allow Indian travellers to carry up to Rs 25,000 in Indian currency.
According to an estimate, Indian rupees account for 30 per cent of Bhutan's international exchange reserves, amounting to about Rs 2,700 crore.
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