Asian Development Bank

In recent years, Bangladesh has emerged as a leading manufacturer of textile products and become a frontrunner in South Asia. In fact, in 2019, Bangladesh had a growth rate of 8%, compared to India's of 5.3%. As the trade deficit decreased, the growth in remittances grew strongly by 9.6% in 2019 to reach a record $16.4 billion. The forecast of an increase in domestic demand, hike in public sector wages, and increased construction activity will bolster its economy in the near term, as well. While many of these economies have a considerable share of revenues from international exports, domestic demand is expected to be the primary driver for growth in the near future. Domestic markets make these economies less prone to external vulnerabilities and global financial turmoil.

Top 14 Smallest Countries In Asia By Land Area United Nations

He also stressed the importance of arriving at a peaceful resolution of the problem through negotiations and expressed optimism about the role that ASEAN could play as an intermediary—helping to address both humanitarian, economic and security concerns in the region. The 29th ASEAN Chiefs of Police Conference was held in Hanoi, Vietnam, on May. Among other subjects, the conference debated and adopted resolutions regarding drugs trafficking, terrorism, arms smuggling and human trafficking. Particular attention was paid to the issue of nations providing “mutual assistance” to each other to deal with these problems.

Political Cooperation

China, India, Russia, and Indonesia are the continent’s most productive mining economies. At the 5th Ministerial Meeting in Manila from 24 to 25 July, the Foreign Ministers of ASEAN issued a Joint Communiqué in which they reiterated that signature of the SEANWFZ Protocol by the NWS would equal a pledge of support for nuclear disarmament and nuclear-weapon-free zones. The Communiqué also addressed the nuclear tests by India and Pakistan, by stating their view that the recent tests in South Asia were not conduciveconducive to the full realization of the Treaty. Also on 8 October, both the People’s Republic of China and India formally acceded to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, with the ASEAN member countries issuing a declaration of consent to this accession.

The Ministers noted the consultations which had taken place between the ASEAN Working Group on ZOPFAN and the SEANWFZ and the NWS and urged the NWS to accede to the Protocol to the SEANWFZ Treaty as another means of enhancing the regional security environment. ASEAN States and Japan also issued an ASEAN-Japan Plan of Action emphasizing economic, cultural, and security-related cooperation. The ASEAN-Japan Joint Declaration for Co-operation in Counter-Terrorism was adopted at the 8th ASEAN-Japan summit on 30 November. At the ASEAN-Japan Senior Officials Meeting, Japan stated that it would like to advance cooperation with ASEAN in the specific areas of counter-terrorism and nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and the reduction of tension in the Korean Peninsula. The paper addresses the establishment of the SEANWFZ as a means to “contribute towards general and complete nuclear disarmament”, and the creation of the SEANWFZ Commission and its Executive Committee to oversee compliance with the Treaty.

One of the essential technologies that has been contributing to the growth of the Fourth Industrial Revolution is the application and advancement of AI. AI had reached a milestone in 1997 when IBM’s Deep Blue supercomputer beat world champion Garry Kasparov in chess. For example, IBM, Facebook, Google, and other companies are at the forefront of experimenting with machine learning techniques such as deep learning and predictive learning. AI technologies are predicted to increase the world’s GDP by 14 percent by 2030.

The ASEAN countries reaffirmed their support for and active participation in all efforts to achieve the objective of general and complete disarmament, especially the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons and of other weapons of mass destruction . They also noted the recent dialogues among the major powers and concerned States on national missile defenses . At the 5th ASEAN Plus Three Foreign Ministers Meeting (ASEAN+3), which convened on 1 July, Chairman H.E Dr. N. Hassan Wirajuda issued a statement noting that the meeting focused on various regional issues, with special emphasis placed on developments in Korea. Once gain, in addition to addressing administrative and economic issues, the Ministers also welcomed the accession of Japan to the TAC and China’s readiness to sign to Protocol of the Treaty of the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon Free Zone.

India

In Mongolia, for example, 75 percent of agricultural land is allocated to the rearing of livestock, such as sheep, goats, and cattle. Participants issued the Hanoi Declaration in which States pledged to intensify their efforts to address arms smuggling, and to intensify consultations with NWS with a view to their accession to the Protocol to the SEANWFZ Treaty. The Hanoi Plan of Action, also adopted at the Summit, also called for the convening of the Commission for the SEANWFZ to oversee implementation and ensure compliance with the Treaty.

It envisioned a Southeast Asia free from nuclear weapons, with all the NWS committed to the purposes of the SANWFZ Treaty through their adherence to its Protocol. It also envisioned the region to be free from all other WMD, and the ASEAN Regional Forum as an established means for confidence-building and preventive diplomacy and for promoting conflict-resolution. On 17 November, ASEAN and the United States issued a Joint Vision Statement on the ASEAN-US Enhanced Partnership whereby they pledged to step up cooperation in key areas spanning political, security, social, economic, and development spheres. On 5-10 August, the 47th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting was held in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar. In the meeting, the delegates addressed the importance of nuclear nonproliferation, the commitment to Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone and the cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency .

Forestry, the management of trees and other vegetation in forests, is an important but threatened industry in a select group of Asian countries. China, Indonesia, and Malaysia make up more than half of the forested lands in Asia. China is a major exporter of wood products, ranking first globally in wood-based panel production, paper, and wood furniture. These tropical woods, such as teak, are primarily used in high-quality furniture and flooring. The “ASEAN Vision 2020” adopted in Kuala Lumpur on 15 December, by the Heads of State/Government of ASEAN, envisioned a “Concert of Southeast Asian Nations” to be in 2020 a Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality, as envisaged in the Kuala Lumpur Declaration of 1971.

Based on a global survey in 2006, Bhutan was rated as the happiest country in Asia and the eighth-happiest in the world. Besides Bengali, English is also used as a second language among the middle and upper classes and is widely used in higher education and legal system. Gulf of ThailandIsland resort in the Gulf of Thailand off the coast of southern Thailand. The Greeks used it to designate the lands situated to the east of their homeland.

(An oil barrel is 159 liters, or 42 gallons.) It also has the world’s largest oil reserves, at roughly 250 billion barrels. Saudi Arabia’s economy is heavily dependent on oil exports, which account for 80 to 90 percent of the country’s total revenues. Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates accounted for roughly 57 percent of global liquid fuels production in 2010.

Over the past few years, South Asia has sustained a period of robust growth that has lifted up many living in poverty, and made notable strides in health and education. In fact, the World Bankreports that between 2013 and 2016, growth in South Asian countries increased from 6.2% to 7.5% while growth rates of otherdeveloping nationsremained flat or even turned negative. In the coming years, the World Bank expects countries in South Asia to continue this growth trajectory, estimated at 6.3 percent in 2020 and 6.7 percent in 2021. These countries did not have any official channels for seeking mutual understanding with China, including the establishment of diplomatic relations. While fearing that guerrilla activities might intensify as a result of the Vietnam cease-fire, these countries were still unable to find effective means to cope with them. Meanwhile, the Soviet Union expressed its interest in the Southeast Asian countries by flying a trial balloon after the Brezhnev speech of March 1972 on his idea of Asian collective security.