On 22 August 2021, Mr. Mahdi Mirashrafi, Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance and President of the Customs Administration of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and Mr. Kazutoshi Aikawa, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Japan to Tehran, signed an Agreement on Mutual Administrative Assistance and Cooperation in Customs Matters in Tehran, Iran, in the presence of the two countries’ Foreign Ministers.

This document, which is based on the Model Agreement of the World Customs Organization (WCO), is the most important text ever signed between the two Customs administrations of Iran and Japan in the field of mutual assistance in Customs matters and provides a legal basis for exchanging Customs documents and information between the two countries.

In accordance with the text of the Agreement, the two countries' Customs administrations will also be able to collaborate in the fields of research, development and coordination for the implementation of new Customs procedures. The signing of this Agreement is a very good start for the future development of administrative, technical, educational and research cooperation between the two countries' Customs authorities.

It is worth mentioning that Japan Customs is one of the most active Customs administrations among the WCO’s membership, with advanced technical and technological expertise in Customs affairs.