Iranian Minister for Culture and Islamic Guidance, Ahmed Masjid Jamei told this to Prime Minister Khaleda Zia when he called on her at her office yesterday.

"The life of Nazrul was very colourful. It can be portrayed in a cinema and we will take the initiative to make a film on his life," Jamei said.

Earlier, the Prime Minister showed her keen interests on learning that the Iranian authorities will translate the literary works of Bangladesh's national poet in their own language to popularies those to their people.

The visiting Iranian minister told the PM that the Iranian Cultural Centre in Dhaka has already translated some of the works of poet Nazrul Islam.

Jamei is visiting Bangladesh with an official delegation to enhance cooperation in culture, education and tourism sectors between the two countries. The visit has yielded formation of a joint commission on cultural affairs, training of journalists and increase in the number of scholarships for students, the Prime Minister was informed.

Khaleda referred to the Bangladeshi nationals working in Iran and proposed that more manpower, including doctors and engineers, be recruited from here.

The Iranian minister appreciated the success of the leadership of Khaleda Zia in improving the echo-system in Bangladesh and development in other sectors. The success of Bangladesh in the environmental field was discussed in Iranian cabinet as a model to be followed, he said.

He conveyed the best wishes of Iranian President Mohammad Khatami and invited Khaleda to the function to declare the Iranian city of Ispahan as the 'Cultural Capital of Asia' in 2006.

Khaleda also requested the Iranian minister to convey her greetings to President Khatami.