The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Dhaka

Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed Thursday asserted that Bangladesh would be able to achieve its missions of eradicating poverty, making life easier and ensuring socioeconomic progress in all fields as the country has got examples that it can deliver.

Visiting Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee Prof Ole Danbolt Mjos hoped that Bangladesh would be able to see its dream come true through building a prosperous Bangladesh free from poverty.

The note of optimism was struck at the inauguration of Nobel Peace Prize Exhibition at the Grameen Bank headquarters in the city's Mirpur area. The head of the caretaker government, Dr Fakhruddin, inaugurated the exhibition arranged to mark the prestigious achievement of winning Nobel Peace Prize by Prof Mohammad Yunus and his brainchild Grameen Bank. Prof Yunus, Nobel Committee chairman Prof Ole Danbolt Mjos, Director, Nobel Peace Center, Bente Erichsen and Ambassador of Norway in Dhaka Ingebjorg Stofring also spoke at the inaugural function.

The Norwegian Nobel Peace Centre, the Norwegian Embassy and the host Grameen Bank jointly organized the exhibition, a permanent one, aimed at encouraging the nation to go ahead.

The exhibition on operations and achievements of Grameen Bank and its founder Prof Yunus since its journey started off from Jobra in Chittagong and culmination in Oslo, Norway, through clinching the Nobel Peace Prize, first ever coming into Bangladesh's coffers.

Replicas of Nobel Peace Prize, video, audio and pictures of various efforts and success stories and historical events of Prof Yunus and Grameen Bank are on the display.

On October 13, 2006, the announcement of winning the Nobel by Prof Yunus and Grameen Bank was made, while the prestigious prize was conferred on December 10, 2006 in Oslo.

Grameen Bank founder and Nobel laureate Prof Mohammad Yunus made welcome address at the function, attended by economists, diplomats, members of the Grameen Bank and distinguished personalities.

Chief Adviser Fakhruddin in his speech said the challenges facing Bangladesh are many and the present government has been trying its best over the past one and a half years to tackle some of these problems, in particular, systemic disarray.

The government is also striving to bring much- needed reforms in the executive, judiciary and electoral process so these institutions facilitate country's socioeconomic progress through a smooth run of the affairs.

"We have focused our efforts on establishing good governance in the country and put in place an enabling environment for the realization of our national aspirations," he told the function.

The Chief Adviser mentioned various statistics of socioeconomic progress in different fields in Bangladesh, including reducing poverty, decline in population growth rate and increase in gender parity.

Appreciating the performance of Grameen Bank and its founder, the CA thanked Prof Mjos and the Nobel Committee for choosing an outstanding Bangladeshi personality and the institution for the Nobel Peace Prize.

This prize rightly recognized the contributions of Prof Yunus and Grameen Bank, which has disbursed, to date, more than USD 7 billion in micro-credits to 7.5 million poor Bangladeshis, he mentioned.

Fakhruddin said presently around 80 percent of Bangladesh's poor households have access to micro-credit and expressed the hope that all of the poor in the country would have access to microfinance soon.

"Bangladeshis are making valuable contribution to resurgence of their motherland not only within their country but also abroad," the Chief Adviser said.

He noted that Expatriate Bangladeshis all over the world are excelling in such varied fields as science, medicine, information technology, architecture, academia and the corporate world.

"Bangladeshi migrant workers have also fanned out across the globe and they have established themselves in unfamiliar settings by adapting to local community and culture."

The CA said many of them are doing very well and making enormous contributions to the national economy with remittances, and these remittances are having a direct impact on alleviation of poverty in the country.

He also mentioned extraordinary performance of members of Bangladesh Armed Forces in UN Peacekeeping Mission, which attained acclaim of the international community.

Prof Yunus said winning Nobel Peace Prize has rediscovered Bangladesh people's ability that they can change themselves and their destiny is great.

"A new Bangladesh was born on October 13 in 2006," he said about the day of announcement of winning the Nobel by him and his Grameen Bank.