French president hails Bangladesh's "banker to the poor"

0 Comments | AFP, October, 2006

DHAKA (AFP) — French President Jacques Chirac has paid tribute to Bangladesh's first Nobel laureate, describing microcredit pioneer Muhammad Yunus as a "visionary", the official BSS news agency said. Yunus and the Grameen Bank, which he founded, were jointly awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize last week.

The economist's microcredit concept of giving tiny loans to the very poor to help them become self-employed has been copied in more than 40 countries and is credited with lifting millions out of poverty. "By paying tribute to you, the Nobel Committee salutes a great achievement of solidarity, development and peace. It also rewards your originality, the soundness and the determination of your action to develop microfinance," the agency quoted Chiraq as saying in a...