TEHRAN: A Japanese official in Tehran expects intense rivalry between his country’s companies and giant European corporations.
Commenting on the two-day visit of a Japanese economic delegation to Tehran over the past two days, Nobuhiko Watanabe, First Secretary and Head of Economic and Commercial Section of Japanese Embassy in Tehran voiced hope that level of Iran-Japan ties would return to the pre-sanctions era.
Saying the Japanese are very serious to be present in Iranian market, Watanabe added that the Japanese will be in a tough competition with major international oil companies to return to the Iranian oil industry.
The Japanese official added that Iran and Japan had wide-scale cooperation in various economic domains, oil in particular, before sanctions and they hoped for resumption of bilateral interactions.
The Japanese State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Daishiro Yamagiwa headed a politico-economic delegation of senior investors and representatives from giant Japanese firms to Tehran on August 8 and 9.
Japan purchased 30% of its oil from Iran before the sanctions slashed the imports to around 5%.
