Iran, Japan Discuss Nuclear Cooperation
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Senior officials representing Iran and Japan on Wednesday mulled over the ways to bolster nuclear cooperation in future, with the Japanese side expressing Tokyo’s preparedness to provide Tehran with the nuclear expertise and experience.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in a Wednesday meeting with Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Tokyo voiced the East Asian heavyweight’s eagerness to boost the bilateral relations with the Islamic Republic.
Abe also touched on his country’s long experience of employing nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, and expressed Tokyo’s readiness for transferring its technical expertise to Tehran and boosting cooperation in the nuclear field.
The Japanese premier further welcomed an initial six-month deal between Iran and the six major world powers over Tehran’s peaceful nuclear program, and hoped that the West’s standoff over the case would be resolved once and for all.
Iran and the Group 5+1 (the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany) inked an interim deal on Tehran’s nuclear program in Geneva last November, while the two sides are trying to reach a final, comprehensive agreement over the course of six months which would lead to a lifting of the whole sanctions on Iran.
During the meeting in Tokyo, Zarif, for his part, hailed as “age-old and good” the ties between the two Asian countries, and laid an emphasis on the role of Japan in facilitating the implementation of the Geneva deal.
He also hinted at the possibility of future nuclear cooperation between Iran and Japan, expressing the hope that partnership in the fields of oil, gas and environment would further flourish.
Foreign Minister Zarif started his tour of East Asia on Tuesday with a visit to Japan for talks with Japanese high-ranking officials.
The visit comes at the invitation of his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida.
