TEHRAN – President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has suggested the value of trade ties between Iran and Japan should reach 50 billion dollars per year.

“If Iran-China trade volume has reached 30 billion dollars today, this amount should be 50 billion dollars between Iran and Japan,” Ahmadinejad said as he received the credentials of the new Japanese ambassador to Tehran, Kinichi Komano, on Sunday.
The president went on to say that there is no negative point in relations between Japan and Iran and if there is, it has been caused by foreign interference.
The president described Iran and Japan as two great and influential nations in the history of human civilization and said Tehran and Tokyo can turn the global condition in favor of independent nations through strengthening their relations.
The president added, “Iran-Japan ties are stable and we see Japan at our front.”
For his part, Komano said his country “will use every opportunity” to expand ties with Iran.
The ambassador also pointed to the subsidy reform plan in Iran, saying the Iranian government has taken a major step to promote the welfare of its people and accelerate the country’s development.
As a veteran diplomat Komano is fluent in Persian language. He had formerly served in Japan’s embassy in Tehran. Komano also served as ambassador in Afghanistan.
Iran interested in expanding ties with Ukraine
Ahmadinejad, who also received the credentials of the new Ukrainian ambassador to Tehran on Sunday, said there is no limitation on expanding ties between the two countries.
Cooperation between the two countries in industry, technology, trade, defense, culture and tourism will set the scene for increasing bilateral ties, he noted.
The Ukrainian ambassador gave Ahmadinejad a bludgeon, saying the bludgeon is not a symbol of power but a symbol of democracy because in the past Ukrainians gave such a bludgeon to people who were elected by them