NEW DELHI -- India's Labor Minister Sahib Singh will visit Iran next week to discuss ways of developing cooperation on vocational training and skill development, a release of India's press Information Bureau said Saturday.

The release, a copy of which was received by IRNA, said that the visit would take place between January 8 and 12, in which the two sides would discuss the two countries' cooperation on sharing information regarding skill development and their training system.

Singh is visiting on the invitation of Iranian Minister of Labor and Social Welfare Safdar Hosseini.

India's Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee visited Iran through April 10-13, 2001 in which the two countries signed the historic Tehran declaration. The declaration outlines the shared vision and common concerns of the two countries' leadership.

The agreement on technical cooperation was also signed during the visit.

India and Iran share centuries of close cultural and civilizational affinities. The two countries have in the past influenced each other in fields of culture, art, agriculture and language.