Nobel Laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus yesterday hoped that all Bangladeshis will have access to microcredit by 2010, as he turned his full attention to his brainchild after stepping aside on Thursday from his efforts to form a political party.

He however refused to speak on politics when asked by reporters after he had spoken as the chief guest at a reception given to him by Chittagong University Execonomics Students Association (CUEESA) in the Darbar Hall at Bangladesh Rifles Headquarters in the capital yesterday.

His speech was focused on reminiscing about his days as a

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professor at Chittagong University while he thanked the students for their assistance during the initial days of his microcredit disbursement programme.

He also said there is a global campaign for giving the poor access to banks. Currently, only two-thirds of the global population have access to banking services, said Yunus.

The 2006 Nobel peace prize winner also informed the audience that at least 90 thousand beggars are currently receiving microcredit loans, but he added that he would never force anyone to take a microcredit loan.

Yunus will fly off to Venezuela on Sunday on special invitation from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, he told the audience.