Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) has recently prepared a document for trade cooperation with Iran and is eager to increase bilateral relations with the country, according to the Chairman of Iran-Japan Joint Trade Committee.
Bahram Shakouri was quoted by ILNA news agency that preparing the document by JETRO is a good sign and indicates that the Japanese have a positive outlook on the future.
Noting that the volume of trade between Iran and Japan has been near zero, Shakouri said that “part of our exports [to Japan] were oil which have stopped and non-oil exports don’t go beyond $37-38 billion.”
He said that Iran and Japan can increase bilateral trade to more than $10 billion, particularly in mines and mining industries, tourism, water management, and environment.
If the 2015 Iran nuclear deal is revived and the sanctions on Iran are removed, Japan can replace many countries, even the European ones, in trade with Iran as the Japanese are highly advanced technologically, Shakouri said.
He believed that Japan can be a good destination for Iranian commodities, including dried fruits and nuts, handicrafts, saffron, carpet, and sea and agricultural products.
Japan is a US ally which has many exchanges with Washington and has been cautious about abiding by US sanctions on Iran, Shakouri said, noting that when JETRO prepares such a document for cooperation with Iran, it indicates that the Japanese have a positive outlook on the future.
“This is good news for us which probably means the negotiations [in Vienna] will yield fruit.”