The country assistance strategy for Bangladesh was approved Wednesday by the World Bank Board, the lender said in a statement.

"The (strategy) puts governance at centre stage. Governance will be the core focus in every sector we engage, and sector governance reform will be the target of every bank-supported project," country director Christine Wallich said in the statement.

Bangladesh, where nearly half the 140 million population lives on less than a dollar a day, was placed at the bottom of graft watchdog Transparency International's corruption list last month for the fifth year in a row.

Under pressure from multilateral lending agencies such as the World Bank, Bangladesh set up an independent Anti-Corruption Commission last November to deal with the issue. But the body has been dogged by criticism.

The World Bank said Bangladesh has recorded impressive economic and social gains in the past decade, outperforming most other low-income countries.

But "there are also serious governance weaknesses across sectors and in core government functions. Addressing these is critical for improving the investment climate and enhancing growth," it said.

It added that over the next four years the bank's loans would target improving the investment climate, liberalising trade, improving the competitiveness of key industries, empowering the poor and reducing administrative barriers.