RIYADH, 8 September 2007 — Bangladesh would forge ahead should its people help the country wipe out corruption and solve political problems, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus told his countrymen at a reception held Thursday in the capital.
The Bangladesh community organized the reception in cooperation with its mission in Riyadh.
The function was presided over by the country’s Ambassador Ikramul Haque.
“Despite political problems, Bangladesh has progressed well in several areas that benefit its people,” Yunus told his community members, adding that the country has achieved most of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals before its set target in 2015.
“With this speed, I hope that the country would wipe out poverty from its doors by 2030.”
Pointing out the developmental strides of the country, Yunus said Bangladesh has the lowest population growth rate among the SAARC countries and added that even longevity among its people had increased from 60 to 65 years.
He stressed that the $6 billion foreign remittances from the country’s overseas workers mean a lot to the country. Around five million Bangladeshis are working abroad and the Kingdom has the largest concentration of some 1.5 million workers among them.
Yunus said he briefed Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah on his anti-poverty micro-financing project and its success in eliminating poverty in Bangladesh communities. He said more than seven million people, particularly women, in Bangladesh have benefited from the Grameen Foundation project. During his meeting with King Saud University Rector Abdullah Al-Othman, Yunus said:
“We agreed to exchange students between the two countries to familiarize with the Grameen Bank programs.”
