Brussels, Dec 18, IRNA -- The EU and Iran have agreed to continue their human rights dialogue in an overall effort to improve and develop closer ties and cooperation.

''The human rights dialogue meeting was conducted in an open and constructive atmosphere and in-depth exchange of views took place,'' said a EU-Presidency announcement issued Tuesday night.

''It was agreed that the next round of EU-Iran Human Rights Dialogue should take place early in 2003 during the Greek EU Presidency,'' it said.

EU and Iran held a two-day human rights dialogue in Tehran Monday and Tuesday, the first of its kind between the European bloc and the Islamic Republic.

A 20-member EU delegation including EU officials as well as representatives of EU human rights institutions, civil society and academia participated in the dialogue.

The Iranian delegation mirrored that of the EU delegation, comprising officials from ministries as well as representatives from human rights institutions, civil society and academia.

The EU Troika also had separate meetings with representatives of the Judiciary and members of the Iranian Parliament

The topic of the dialogue was discrimination and prevention of torture. Among the sub-issues discussed under the discrimination heading were women's rights and rights of minorities, racial discrimination and xenophobia.

On the prevention of torture, the discussion spanned international and national legal instruments established to prevent torture from taking place as well as the implementation of these legal instruments.

At the meeting of officials the EU Troika presented to the Iranian side a list of individual cases in Iran, to which the EU attach particular importance, noted the EU announcement.

''The EU will assess progress under the dialogue on the basis of concrete benchmarks. In this respect, the EU took note of the agreement made by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to receive a number of UN Thematic Rapporteurs, including the UN Rapporteur on violence against women who will arrive in Iran in early 2003,'' it said.

Head of Department for the Middle East, North Africa and Latin America at the Danish foreign ministry, Lars Faaborg-Andersen, headed the EU Troika representing the Danish EU Presidency.

Director General for Legal and International Affairs, Mehdi Danesh-Yazdi, headed the Iranian delegation.

The Tehran meeting followed the launching in Brussels last week of EU-Iran talks on a Trade and Cooperation Agreement as well as negotiations on an agreement on a political dialogue and cooperation on counter-terrorism.