By Moazzem Hossain BBC reporter in Dhaka

International donors have expressed concern over Bangladesh's deteriorating law and order situation, which they said could badly hit the country's development programmes.

The economy has been stabilised, and Bangladesh is now in a much better position

Frederick Temple, World Bank country director

In a meeting with the Bangladeshi Finance Minister, Saifur Rahman in Dhaka, representatives of the World Bank and other donor agencies urged the government to speed up reforms in areas of governance and economic management.

The meeting was convened to review the progress of reforms in these areas and improvements in the government's human rights record.

Earlier, at a meeting in April this year, donors set these as important pre-conditions for Bangladesh receiving any foreign aid in future.

Curbing crime

The donors' observation on law and order came just a day after a UN report strongly criticised Bangladesh for what it said was the high level of human insecurity in the country and an "anti-poor" criminal justice system.

Law and order has been a grave concern

Law and order was high on the agenda of Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's government when it came to power in October last year.

International donors say a year has passed without any significant improvement and deteriorating law and order now threatens ongoing development programmes.

At the donors meeting, Finance Minister Saifur Rahman said the government was trying its best to improve the situation and that it planned to recruit more policemen to curb crime.

Need for action

But the World Bank country director in Dhaka, Frederick Temple, said what Bangladesh needed was action, not intentions.

The administration's poor record in improving governance also came under strong criticism from the donors.

However, the donors praised some of the reforms carried out by the government in macro-economic management.

Frederick Temple said, "The economy has been stabilised, and Bangladesh is now in a much better position with lower fiscal deficit and a strong foreign exchange reserve."

Foreign aid

Analysts say the outcome of this meeting will significantly affect Bangladesh's foreign aid flow.

In the current financial year, the country expects nearly $1.58 billion in credit and aid from multilateral agencies and developed countries to meet the deficit in its development expenditure.

In recent years, Bangladesh reduced its dependence on foreign aid to some extent but 45% of its development fund still comes from international donors.