TEHRAN- Iran-Japan Joint Chamber of Commerce will be opened in Tehran in near future, Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) Chairman Gholam-Hossein Shafeie announced.

Speaking to ILNA, Shafeie noted that the two countries’ joint commerce committee has been already formed, and the two sides plan to turn the committee into a joint chamber very soon.

The official expressed hope that with the Japanese Prime minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to Iran the two countries could remove some of the hurdles in the way of bilateral trade.

“Japan has been one of Iran’s oldest trade partners and we have had great economic relations throughout history,” he said.

Shafeie mentioned the negative impact of the U.S. sanctions on the two countries’ bilateral trade, saying “although the U.S. sanctions have affected our relations but the Japanese are highly interested in maintaining ties with Iran and we hope that Abe’s Iran visit will remove part of these restrictions and we will return to the good old relations.”

He further noted that most of Iran’s non-oil exports to Japan include nuts, carpets, fruit juice concentrates, and the imports are mostly machinery and electronic equipment.

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is scheduled to travel to Iran on Wednesday, according to Japanese media.

According to Japan Times, he is expected to stress the importance of the international nuclear deal reached in 2015 between Iran and the P5+1, even as the United States has withdrawn from it and Tehran said last month it would suspend some of its commitments under the accord.

The Japanese prime minister last met Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on the sidelines of United Nations General Assembly meeting in 2013.

EF/MA