He was accorded 'Order of the Liberator in First Class with Grand Decoration' at a ceremony at Miraflores Palace in Caracas on May 11.

Yunus was honoured for his outstanding and commendable work, and services for the benefit of humanity, according to a message received from Caracas.

The Venezuelan vice-president, cabinet members, bankers, civil and military officials, and members of the media attended the ceremony, in addition to nearly 500 micro-credit borrowers.

Chavez in his speech narrated the history of his association with Prof Yunus and how he was influenced by Yunus' book in 1998 long before he met him.

He explained that in building his political movement he used Yunus' ideas about focussing on the poor women and extending micro-credits.

He visited Bangladesh in 2000 to meet Yunus and learn about Grameen Bank. The following year, Yunus visited Venezuela and advised Chavez on introduction of several micro-credit initiatives.

President Chavez thanked Yunus for helping the poor people of Venezuela to move out of poverty. He told the audience how impressed he was by Yunus' concept of social business.

Prior to the ceremony, Prof Yunus had an exclusive meeting with President Chavez to discuss strategies for poverty reduction.

The Venezuelan president evinced his especial interest in social business, and was keen to understand it to undertake implementation of the concept.

Yunus invited President Chavez to visit Grameen Bank in Bangladesh for a firsthand view of social business in operation.

Yunus also requested President Chavez to sell oil to Bangladesh on favorable terms --preferably on concessional credit.

The president, who had fought for protecting his country's oil resources from the grabs of multinationals, agreed to consider the proposal.

According to this proposal, Venezuela would sell oil to Bangladesh for 60 percent payment in 90 days, remaining 40 percent to be paid over 20 years with one percent interest. Bangladesh would also be allowed to pay in kind by exporting goods that Venezuela needs.

When President Chavez visits Bangladesh, he would like to sign agreement on the terms of oil sale. Serious negotiations can take place in the meantime.