TEHRAN - Japan's Ambassador to Iran, Tamaki Tsukada, has announced his country's readiness to expand cooperation with Iran in humanitarian areas.

He also said Japan is interested in providing food and health commodities to Iran and developing economic relations between the two countries, noting that implementing a joint project would mark the beginning of a new chapter in this regard, IRNA reported.

The Japanese envoy made the remarks in a meeting in Tehran on Monday, May 18, with Pirhossein Kolivand, the head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society.

He announced that Japan will send its first shipment of humanitarian aid to Iran in the coming weeks, adding that the issue had been finalized in an agreement between the foreign ministers of the two countries.

Referring to Iran's aid to Japan after the 2011 earthquake, the ambassador said: "The Japanese people are grateful for this support, and today they also feel deep sympathy for the Iranian people."

Kolivand, for his part, said Iran has good experience related to disaster management, but Japan also has valuable practical experience in this field. “Knowledge exchange and transfer of experience between specialized teams of the two countries can play an important role in enhancing capabilities.”

Economic, scientific relations

On May 15, the Japanese envoy met with Iranian Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Seyed Ali Madanizadeh, discussing ways to expand economic cooperation between the two countries.

The meeting, which took place at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, addressed the development of cooperation and economic relations, including the activities of private companies, as well as collaboration in the field of economic activities between the two nations.

During the meeting, both sides emphasized the serious determination of senior officials of Iran and Japan to develop joint cooperation between the two countries.

In January, Tsukada highlighted the significance of promoting scientific ties with Iranian universities in different areas, especially emerging technologies, artificial intelligence (AI), and advanced materials.

Science and industry are the two main indicators of power in the 21st century, which play a critical role in scientific diplomacy, IRNA quoted Tsukada as saying.

He made the remarks in a meeting with Mahmoud Shokrieh, the chancellor of Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST). The ambassador said the scientific capabilities and capacities of Iran have never been truly presented to Japan, and that it is his main responsibility to do so. He also announced readiness to foster interactions between the IUST and Japanese universities.

For his part, Shokrieh elaborated on the University’s achievements in science, research, and industry. He proposed exchanging professors and students, conducting collaborative educational courses and scientific projects, establishing joint laboratories, and cooperating in science and technology parks.

Referring to the consortium of the top five universities of technology in Iran, namely the University of Tehran, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Amirkabir University of Technology, Sharif University of Technology, and Iran University of Medical Sciences (called UT5), the official said the consortium can lay the ground for the expansion of scientific interactions between the best Iranian universities of technology and Japanese universities, which was well-received by the Japanese side.

In October 2024, Science, Research, and Technology Minister Hosseith Simaei-Sarraf and Tsukada discussed avenues for boosting scientific and technological collaborations between the two countries.

The officials met in Tehran, a week before attending the 21st annual meeting of the Science and Technology in Society (STS) forum held from October 6 to 8, 2024, in Kyoto, Japan.

Referring to Iran and Japan’s global ranking in producing articles related to nanotechnology, which are fifth and fourth, respectively, Tsukada stressed the two countries could collaborate and become the leading countries in this field.

The Japanese official went on to say that regarding former joint activities, “Iran and Japan’s collaborations in the field of environment can also be expanded.”