New Delhi, Jan 5 (IANS): Inviting Indian publishers to the International Book Fair in Tehran in April, an Iranian minister on Sunday called for greater cooperation in the publishing space of the two nations.

Mohsin Jawadi, Iran's Deputy Minister for Culture and Guidance, said they are prepared to closely collaborate with Indian authors and publishers in different book-related fields.

He also proposed to form a collaborative working group, responsible for determining Iran's priorities in book-related collaborations.

He was speaking at CEOSpeak, a publishing forum organised by FICCI and National Book Trust, on the sidelines of the ongoing New Delhi World Book Fair (NDWBF).

Jawadi said: "Books are the best means for creating friendship among nations. In the past, Iranians were profoundly familiar with the Indian culture."

Asked how India and Iran are cooperating in terms of translations, he said that hundreds of books, in the last 2-3 years, have been translated from Hindi to Persian, and from Persian to Indian languages.

"The translations have been going on since the time when we didn't have enough resources and computers to translate. I hope the new generation in both the countries will carry forward the process," he told IANS.

Highlighting the expansion of cultural ties with India, the minister said that it is time to restart interactions between poets of Iran and India and revive the past glorious connections between the two countries.

Iranian publishing industry representatives also called for greater dialogue and cultural exchange at the event.

The event was part of the Book Fair going on at Pragati Maidan till January 12.