The greater the proportion of the ADP that can be funded from internal tax revenue instead of having to rely on condition-based aid that is deleterious to the nation's sovereignty and self-image, the better for the country.

It was not too long ago that the government was bristling at the tone of the annual donor meeting, and it has long been this newspaper's position that while well-meaning development assistance is always welcome, having to endure pious sermons on good governance, to say nothing of the restrictions and limitations put on the government in order to avail itself of the foreign aid, is less acceptable, and the ultimate goal for any country must be to minimise its dependence on outside assistance.

On the other hand, foreign direct investment is precisely the kind of foreign development assistance that the country needs and should encourage, and the fact that FDI for the fiscal year 2004 is projected to increase by over 2 percent is especially heartening given the troubles which the country has faced of late, and many, including the finance minister, feared would have a negative impact on foreign investment in Bangladesh.

It is not all good news, of course. The 50 percent dip in foreign aid disbursed to Bangladesh in the last fiscal year, indicates the government's inability to fully implement and utilise the funds in an efficient and timely manner as well as a lessening dependence on foreign aid.

Similarly, while FDI is estimated to rise from $376 million last fiscal year to $385 this fiscal year, FDI is still far below the $553 recorded in fiscal year 2001.

Nevertheless even small trends in the right direction are better than such trends in the opposite direction, and few would argue with the statement that less foreign aid and more foreign investment is the direction in which the country should be moving.