TEHRAN President Mohammad Khatami and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori signed a 15-point joint statement here on Wednesday for mutual cooperation in the 21st century.
According to the statement, Iran and Japan would continue constructive and open dialogue, cooperate in the fields of culture, tourism, drugs and terrorism campaign, accommodation of refugees, activation of their private sectors, vitalization and facilitation of private economic activities, insuring sustainable growth of the world economy at large and recovering the Asian economy in particular, deepening mutual understanding between oil producing and consuming countries based on just and mutual interests and building more effective and constructive ties toward peace and prosperity of the world.
The statement also called for continued dialogue on human rights, redoubling efforts for disarmament and nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction and promotion of dialogue and cooperation to that end.
Both sides, sharing the recognition that the United Nations needs to be reformed to become an organization capable of coping effectively with problems in the world of the 21st century, emphasized the importance of the realization of the Security Council reform to enhance its legitimacy, representativeness and effectiveness, including the expansion of its permanent and nonpermanent membership.
According to the statement, the two countries reaffirmed importance of a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East.
They also stressed cooperation for restoration of peace in Afghanistan and the establishment of a broad-based government representing all Afghan people and reaffirmed their shared intention to actively engage in the peace efforts by the international community, involving the implementation of the United Nations Security Council resolutions.
Both sides shared the view that the problem of refugees was a priority issue for the whole international community and expressed readiness to extend humanitarian assistance to the Afghan refugees, particularly, through international organizations.
Speaking in a meeting with Japanese business leaders, the president stressed that the firm determination of both governments has opened up better prospects for the expansion of cooperation at bilateral and international levels.
Khatami, on a four-day official visit to Tokyo, added, "Iran is a bridge strategically located between the two oil and gas regions of the world, namely the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf". He added that moreover Iran is endowed with vast reserves of oil and natural gas and other mineral resources.
The president said that Japan as a major importer and Iran as a large producer of fossil fuels in the world are able to meet each other's needs and pave the way for further cooperation in the energy sector.
On the same day, Iran and Japan agreed to start formal negotiations on cooperation for appraisal and development of Azadegan oil field.
The joint statement was inked by Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zangeneh and Japan's Industry and Foreign Trade Minister Takeo Hiranuma.