Iran seeks increase of oil exports to Japan to previous level

Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zangeneh said here Monday that his country is looking for an increase of oil exports to Japan in the future.

He hopes that "Japan's oil imports from Iran will reach the level it was before the U.S.-led sanctions on Tehran in 2012," Iran's Petro Energy Information Network quoted Zangeneh as saying after his meeting with Katsuyuki Kawai, a special adviser to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in Tehran on Monday.

"Given the removal of sanctions, relations between the two countries can grow with a considerable momentum," he said, adding that "Iran and Japan can enjoy strategic relations in different fields including energy sector."

Crude oil exports make up a significant part of Iran-Japan relations, and "we expect Japanese firms to bring their petroleum imports from Iran to the level it was before the sanctions imposed on Tehran," Zangeneh said.

Iran and Japan can cooperate in different energy sectors including refining of oil products, liquefied national gas, producing petrochemicals, investment and financing Iran's oil projects.

Japan and Iran signed an investment pact On Feb. 5 to help Japanese companies run business in the the Islamic republic after Tokyo lifted its sanction on Tehran as the result of the nuclear agreement reached in 2015 over the Iranian nuclear issue.

Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said at the signing ceremony with Iranian Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Ali Tayyebnia in Tokyo that he hopes the pact could "contribute greatly" to improve economic ties between Japan and Iran.

Tokyo lifted its sanctions on Tehran over oil and gas investment after UN nuclear agency's confirmation last month that Tehran had implemented measures promised under a landmark nuclear deal it reached with six major powers last July.

Tayyebnia also said Iran had a great appetite for Japan's technologies over fuel-efficient vehicles, renewable energy and agricultural processing. Endit