TEHRAN-Japan will finalize a $3 billion dollar credit package for investment in Iran's oil and gas sector during the upcoming visit of President Mohammad Khatami to Japan, the Iranian News Agency said on Sunday. It said that the credit facility would be paid in yen to minimize the long-term fixed interest.
Japan relies heavily on oil imports for its energy needs, and Iran is its third-largest oil supplier.
Mehdi Hosseini and Hojjatollah Ghanimifar, both officials with the oil ministry, and Majid Hedayatzadeh, of the foreign ministry, are drawing up the final details of the deal, it added.
Khatami is due to start a 4-day visit to Tokyo on Monday.
The two nations exchanged documents finalizing a loan of $69.31 million in Tehran on Oct. 8 to help complete a hydroelectric dam in Iran's Khuzestan province.