Dhaka - Bangladesh Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus Tuesday called for national unity to fight the global meltdown, which has started affecting the country's impoverished economy.

"It needs great courage and national unity to face the problem nationally," said the micro-credit guru, who won the Nobel peace prize with his Grameen Bank in 2006.

Speaking after a meeting of a national task force, he said food, energy, power, port and agriculture should have priority when it comes to dealing with the crisis.

Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith, who presided over the maiden meeting of the 27-member task force, admitted that exports have been affected by the recession.

"But there is neither any reason for being panicked nor to be complacent," he told a press briefing after the meeting.

Bangladesh will be able to face the challenges by taking appropriate time-befitting measures, said the minister, predicting a tougher fiscal year beginning in July. He said the recession would continue for another 18 months. (dpa)