Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 6
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
Japan is interested to cooperate with Iranian partners to manufacture car and car parts in the Islamic Republic, Hiroyuki Ishige, head of Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) said.
JETRO is a government-related organization that works to promote mutual trade and investment between Japan and the rest of the world.
Ishige, who is in Tehran heading a Japanese trade delegation, further said that Japan is ready to cooperate with Iranian companies in the fields of food industry and environment.
"We have started our studies to implement the decisions as soon as the grounds are prepared, he said, Iran's IRIB news agency reported Oct. 6.
He added that representatives from 30 major Japanese companies which are working in oil, gas and petrochemical industries as well as carmakers such as Mitsubishi and Suzuki are in Iran to discuss expansion of bilateral economic relations with Iranian counterparts.
Ishige also criticized Iran's bureaucratic system and violating intellectual property rights of the companies in the Islamic Republic as main obstacles in front of promoting mutual cooperation.
He expressed hope that these obstacles will be removed as soon as possible.
The volume of Iran-Japan trade stood at about $2.5 billion before imposition of sanction against Tehran due to its disputed nuclear program, but fell to $ 240 million in later years.
On July 14, the Islamic Republic reached an agreement with the P5+1( the US, the UK, France, China, and Russia plus Germany) also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, curbing Iran 's nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of most international sanctions.
Following the deal Iran's former trade partners have started dispatching delegations to Tehran to study cooperation in the post-sanctions period.
Head of Iran's Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) Valiollah Afkhamirad earlier said that the volume of trade between Iran and Japan has fallen in the past years and has slumped to less than 10 percent in non-oil sectors, which is too low to meet the two countries' needs.
The official noted that Iran is ready for joint investment with Japan in such fields as oil, gas and petrochemical industry, mineral industries, automobile manufacturing, and nanotechnology after sanctions imposed on Iran are removed.