Japan’s Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said Japanese companies are ready for a noticeable vast presence in Iran once the West-engineered sanctions are removed against the Islamic Republic.
He made the statement yesterday in a meeting with Iranian Industry, Mining and Trade Minister Mohammadreza Ne’matzadeh in Tehran, the IRNA news agency reported.
Kishida, who arrived in Tehran on October 11 heading a delegation of 20 large Japanese companies active in different industrial, trade and energy fields, said Japan’s government will support activity of Japanese companies in Iran.
When the condition is prepared, Japanese firms can start and then bolster cooperation with the Iranian companies, he added.
Ne’matzadeh, for his part, said his country supports long-term economic activity and investment making by the Japanese companies in Iran.
He said: “For our trade ties in the new business environment, we attach priority to making investment in the large scale”.
There are many areas for trade in them Iran and Japan can cooperate; the official stated, adding: “We are willing to start our cooperation with the Japanese sides in the field of technical and engineering knowledge as well as production.”
Tokyo is seeking and emphasizing to boost investment in Iran following Tehran’s nuclear deal, according to the Japanese media.
*** Signing contracts with Japan possible via sanctions removal: Zanganeh
In a meeting with Kishida in Tehran on October 12, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh conditioned signing contracts with Japan on lifting of the West-led sanctions against Iran.
He said Iran and Japan can cooperate in the petrochemical, refining and distribution sectors as well as production of liquefied natural gas (LNG), according to the Shana News Agency.
The official asked for the Japanese companies’ cooperation in the areas of reducing gas flaring at oil fields and increasing energy consumption efficiency in Iran.
Referring to the fruitful activities of the Japanese firms in Iran before the sanctions, for example in development of Azadegan Oilfield, Zanganeh expressed hope that bilateral ties will expand between the two countries once sanctions are lifted.
Kishida, for his part, said his country is ready to expand its ties with Iran in different fields of energy.
He said the large Japanese companies accompanying him in his visit to Iran are seeking to cooperate with the Iranian oil sector in different parts.
Japanese companies, which had active presence in Iran’s petrochemical and oil projects before the sanctions were imposed on the country, have announced their readiness to resume activity in the Islamic Republic when sanctions are removed.
Japan’s Inpex Corporation had a stake in the project to develop Azadegan Oilfield, considered to have one of the largest crude oil reserves in the Middle East. It had to pull out after the United States reinforced its sanctions on Iran.
Japan has announced that it is ready to resume its activity in Azadegan as soon as the sanctions are lifted.
Japan was one of the major buyers of Iran’s oil before the sanctions. The country imported 10 percent of its oil from Iran in 2000, but sanctions have cut that figure to roughly 5 percent in fiscal 2014. Japan hopes renewed talks will lead to increased oil imports.