Japan and Iran agreed Thursday to make joint efforts to pursue weapons disarmament and nonproliferation, combat terrorism, press Iraq to comply with U.N. weapons inspections, and support the Middle East peace process.
Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura and Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi announced the agreement in a joint press statement issued on the final day of Kharrazi's four-day official visit to Japan.
The two ministers agreed to have their senior officials hold talks on arms control and disarmament in January, while expressing "their determination to strive further in the field of arms control and disarmament, especially in the field of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems," the five-page statement said.
Komura and Kharrazi reaffirmed their commitment to uphold the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and agreed on "the urgent need" for nonparties to the treaty to accede "without delay and without conditions."