During the last week’s joint seminar by Iranian and Japanese chambers of commerce held in Tokyo, the chairman of Iran’s Chamber of Commerce, Industries, and Mines, Mohammad Nahavandian said that his country had presented immense trade opportunities for Japan to ease their economic crises. He pointed out that the Article 44 of Iran’s Constitution was tailor-made for foreign investments in Iran.
Export based economy of Japan has been devastated recently by the global economic crisis. The Japan’s exports dropped by 50 percent triggering a 5.4 percent plunge in its GDP due to falling demand for its merchandise from the US and the EU, its major trade partners.
During the meet, Iran invited Japan to set up branches of their banks in Iran, and apprised of the opportunities in fields such as, marine transportation system, oil projects, and construction of marine structures. Another major area of investment brought to the notice by Iran was national railway network project including construction of railroads for express trains and other related projects.
Currently, Japan is the third largest importer of Iran’s industrial and mining products, and about 22 percent of its total oil output is exported to Japan. The two-way trade between both countries is about $20bn in 2008.
With renewed ties, Iran is expecting to triple the trade volume in the coming years through increased economic participation by Japan. Iran’s non-oil exports to Japan include carpets, pistachios and dry fruits.
After concluding the Tokyo visit, Nahavandian informed he had assurances by several Japanese authorities including Japan’s MP, Kotaro Tamura that a Japanese delegation would soon visit the country to review the trade possibilities in Iran. Tamura is one of the strong supporters in fostering better ties with Iran that extend to all spheres of bilateral co-operation. Iran’s anti-American stance and Japan’s US ally status often vexed the relations between both countries for the past several decades.
Toboc Trade News