TEHRAN: Japanese banks seek to increase activity in Iran, said Katsuyuki Kawai, the special advisor to the prime minister of Japan, in his meeting with Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Governor Valiollah Seif, official website of the CBI reported on Tuesday.
Heading a trade delegation, Kawai arrived in Tehran on Monday where he visited top Iranian officials, discussing ways of economic cooperation.
He said under the terms of a bilateral investment deal, signed between Iran and Japan on February 5, Japan agreed to a $10 billion debt guarantee to Iran’s economic projects, a figure which is higher than Japan’s any other foreign investment.The deal gives Japanese firms an edge in the global rush for access to the resource-rich nation.
The move could create an enormous inflow of Japanese investment in the Middle Eastern nation. Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida signed the pact with Iran’s visiting Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Ali Tayyebnia during a ceremony at the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo.
Japanese officials welcomed the signing of the investment treaty, saying the $10 billion debt guarantee will allow Japanese companies to invest without significant risk. During the meeting, Kawai also announced that the Japanese prime minister would visit Iran in near future.
Seif, for his part, officially invited Haruhiko Kuroda, the governor of the Bank of Japan (BOJ), to visit Iran, offering Iranian and Japanese banks to hold a meeting on ways of facilitating banking relations and providing brokerage through banks.
Seif further noted that Iran considers Japan its major economic partner in eastern Asia, adding that the ground is prepared for the two countries to expand their economic relations. He also expressed hope that Iran-Japan economic cooperation would reach the highest level possible.