TEHRAN - IRICA chief Mehdi Mir Ashrafi and Japan ambassador to Tehran Aikawa Kazutoshi have signed a first document on customs cooperation as the two countries seek to speed up cargo clearance to help boost their future trade relations.
IRICA’s international cooperation office chief Hussein Kakhaki said that the deal, which he said has been based on models accepted by the World Customs Organization, would help Iran and Japan speed up customs clearance procedures.
“By signing this document, the two countries would ease and expedite customs exchange and enquiry procedures,” said Kakhaki.
The agreement came as Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi was in Tehran for meetings with Iran’s new president Ebrahim Raeisi and other senior officials.
The trip comes as Iran and Japan plan to ramp up economic and trade cooperation in the years to come mainly to offset losses suffered in recent years because of American sanctions on Tehran.
Iran has sought to increase its trade relations with Asian countries since the United States pulled out of an international agreement on Tehran’s nuclear program and imposed sanctions on the country.
IRICA authorities signed a customs agreement with China earlier this year. The deal allows Iranian businesses to enjoy easier customs clearance services in China while Iran also commits as part of the deal to provide similar services to designated Chinese businesses.