Southeast Asian Countries

Ancient, giant landmass that split apart to form all the continents we know today. Region of land stretching across Russia from the Ural Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. At the 5th ASEAN Summit in Bangkok, on 15 December, ASEAN leaders signed the SEANWFZ Treaty. The notion of a SEANWFZ dates back to 27 November 1971, when the original five members of the ASEAN meeting in Kuala Lumpur signed a Declaration on a Zone of Peace, Freedom, and Neutrality . None of the NWS had yet signed the Protocols, largely due to US and French objections regarding the unequivocal nature of security assurances and over the definitions of territory .

South And Central Asian Affairs: Countries And Other Areas

This knowledge, therefore, becomes indispensable both to those who study Southeast Asia and its society as well as to the Southeast Asian themselves. A more generalized demand for knowledge on Southeast Asian societies relates to marketing and this trend must not be underrated with the recent expansion of the middle class in the region. As the markets and clients in Southeast Asia become more sophisticated the need for in-depth knowledge on sectors of the Southeast Asia societies has increased. This in turn has increased the demand for graduates who have followed courses related to Southeast Asian studies. It has been observed that the Japanese seem to be regular consumers of knowledge on Southeast Asia.

There is a range of issues which relate to the experience of migrants from South and Southeast Asia in destination countries. Several groups settling in northern countries show a tendency to concentrate in particular communities or develop ethnic enclaves, especially in major metropolitan areas. Debate on this ranges between those who see such areas as barriers to the adjustment of migrants and those who see them as having a cushioning effect in allowing migrants to adjust to life in the new country in a gradual way and with the support of community networks. Other issues relate to discrimination experienced by some groups in housing and job markets as well as nonrecognition of qualifications leading to occupational skidding and deskilling.

United Nations Subdivisions

At the 39th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting from July, the ministers issued a joint communiqué in which they voiced their concern over recent developments in North Korea—including the test firing of its Taepodong-2 missiles on 5 July—that could affect peace and security in the region. They emphasized the need for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and called upon concerned parties to utilize the upcoming ASEAN Regional Forum as an opportunity to resume the Six-Party Talks towards a peaceful resolution of the nuclear issue. Meetings of ASEAN members at various levels, including the fifth ASEAN ministerial conference in April, were held in 1972. In February 1973, the ASEAN nations held an extraordinary meeting of their foreign ministers in the wake of the Vietnam cease-fire.

Association Of Southeast Asian Nations Asean

The Bank’s work also spans across several development goals and cross-cutting initiatives. ADB celebrates Gender Month during March every year as an opportunity to reflect on progress made in promoting gender equality and encourage increased participation of women in building a stronger and more prosperous Asia and the Pacific region. Bank boards can drive growth and profits while spurring positive social change by supporting small and medium-sized enterprises owned by women.

The mountainous north of Nepal ha eight of the world’s ten tallest mountains, including the highest point on Earth, Mount Everest. For in-depth treatment of Asia’s major geographic features, see specific articles by name—e.g., Pamirs, Gobi, and Tigris and Euphrates rivers. For discussion of individual countries of the continent, see specific articles by name—e.g., Kazakhstan, Mongolia, India, and Thailand. For discussion of major cities of the continent, see specific articles by name—e.g., Bangkok, Jerusalem, Beijing, and Seoul.

The Southeast Asian countries were being compelled to review their own national security by taking these factors into consideration. However, national statistics for the higher income countries may disguise regions within countries with health status well below the national average, e.g., West Nusa Tenggara in Indonesia, and Northeast Thailand. In countries like India and the Philippines there appears to be an oversupply of some skilled groups in relation to the opportunities available locally. Nevertheless, there can be no doubt that the emigration of some skilled groups can be detrimental to local economies in some cases. Some countries in the region (e.g., Pakistan) have put in place programs to encourage former emigrants with certain skills to return to their home country. The growth of India's information technology industry, for example, has lured some former emigrants to return.

Recently, India has managed to attract foreign investments, liberalized FDI in key sectors like defense, real estate, railways, and insurance, and progressed towards energy efficiency. Afghanistan has one of the lowest growth rates of all South Asian countries, at less than 3%. Largely, this is due to pressing security risks and political tension after the suspension of the U.S.-Taliban peace negotiations. However, its agriculture sector continues to grow as favorable weather reverses the impacts of a drought in 2018, prompting economists to favor Afghanistan's GDP growth projections in the next few years.

Nepal has also been a surprising leader and has had robust growth in recent years, with agriculture exceeding expectations, especially in rice production. In Nepal, the industry continues to advance with increased electricity production, strong consumer demand, as well as efforts in Nepal to continue to recoup the losses from the devastating 2015 earthquake. The World Bank also reports that the first of two $100 million projects is bolstering Nepal's electricity sector, while the IDA18 IFC-MIGA Private Sector Window will provide $103 million for a hydropower plant that will encourage private sector investment. The well-formulated “Make In India” campaign has started supporting local manufacturers and attracted multinational corporations and even nations to set up manufacturing facilities in India across different industry and services sectors. Astudyby the UK thinktank the Centre for Economics Business and Research suggests that “India could become the world's third-largest economy after 2030,” and together with Brazil it could lead to "France and Italy kicked out of the exclusive G8 group” in the next 15 years.

This is hardly surprising because they have massive investments in Southeast Asia. Research foundations from Japan, in particular the Toyota Foundation, have been very active, since the 1990s, in promoting ‘Southeast Asian studies for Southeast Asians,’ and supporting other research and exchange programs. Taiwan and Korea are the two other Asian countries having their own Southeast Asian studies research centers, along with the United States, United Kingdom, France, and The Netherlands, former colonial powers in Southeast Asia.

On March 2, the 24th meeting of the ASEAN-EU Joint Cooperation Committee was held in Jakarta. In addition, an aggressive cut of subsidies in India has released funds for development needs, and an increase in ventures underpublic-private partnershipssuch as in renewable energy is also aiding the growth momentum. South Asian countries are expected to continue a strong growth trajectory in coming years--up to 6.7% is projected by the World Bank in 2021. Shobhit Seth is a freelance writer and an expert on commodities, stocks, alternative investments, cryptocurrency, as well as market and company news. In addition to being a derivatives trader and consultant, Shobhit has over 17 years of experience as a product manager and is the owner of FuturesOptionsETC.com. He received his master's degree in financial management from the Netherlands and his Bachelor of Technology degree from India.