South Asian Countries

The Fourth Industrial Revolution began roughly at the turn of the twenty- first century . Automation and connectivity are the two main characteristics of this revolution that are being advanced by many disruptive technological innovations, such as artificial intelligence , big data, internet of things , robotics, and many more. The United States and Europe have been at the forefront of the Industrial Revolutions over the last two and a half centuries. Almost all Asian countries, except Japan, were latecomers to these revolutions. Nevertheless, many of them, including China, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, Indonesia, and Malaysia, made significant progress by the end of the Third Industrial Revolution. An emirate is a political territory that is ruled by a Muslim monarch called an emir.

Southeast Asia

The tiny country of Brunei, on the island of Borneo, has a population of just 437,000. The Maldives, a tropical island country in the Indian Ocean, has 540,500 people, while the landlocked Kingdom of Bhutan, located in the Eastern Himalayas and bordered by China, has just 771,600 inhabitants. However, depending upon the organization or government making the list, Asia can have as few as 45 or as many as 53 countries. The continent is also home to a varying number of "administrative regions" and dependent territories. Provides information & annotated links to some of the best resources for doing research on Russia and East European countries.

When Western explorers reached South and East Asia in early modern times, they extended that label to the whole of the immense landmass. While this global health crisis continues to evolve, it can be useful to look to past pandemics to better understand how to respond today.

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.

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.

South Asian Countries

Lake Baikal, which is 5,315 feet deep and whose bottom lies 3,822 feet below sea level, are all located in Asia. Those physiographic extremes and the overall predominance of mountain belts and plateaus are the result of the collision of tectonic plates. In geologic terms, Asia comprises several very ancient continental platforms and other blocks of land that merged over the eons. Most of those units had coalesced as a continental landmass by about 160 million years ago, when the core of the Indian subcontinent broke off from Africa and began drifting northeastward to collide with the southern flank of Asia about 50 million to 40 million years ago.

The issue of south–north migration representing a ‘brain drain’ of skill and talent needed for development in the home countries is a longstanding one in the region. In several origin countries, however, the occupational profile of migrant workers is largely an unskilled and semi-skilled one so that movement out of a country like Indonesia certainly cannot be characterized as a brain drain. On the other hand, much of the movement out of countries like India, Pakistan, Philippines, and Singapore is of skilled and highly educated groups. In those cases, however, the movement is not necessarily a net economic loss to the nation. Economic studies have shown that in some cases individuals have a net positive economic impact if they go overseas and remit money back to their home country rather than remain behind.

Countries & Regions

The 29th Annual ASEAN Ministerial Meeting, involving Foreign Ministers, issued a communiqué in Jakarta on 21 July. It called for the expeditious ratification of the SEANWFZ Treaty, and for an end to nuclear testing and the conclusion of a CTBT. The Ministers welcomed the progress in the implementation of the SEANWFZ Treaty, stressed the importance of direct consultation between ASEAN, and the NWS and considered this significant progress towards encouraging the accession of the NWS to the Protocol to the SEANWFZ Treaty.

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 13 Largest Countries In Asia By Population United Nations :

If the existing trade barriers are eliminated facilitating regulated trade flow, the untapped potential can do wonders for this region. Though the large nations in the region, India and Pakistan, have successfully managed to increase their trade share with East Asian and Sub-Saharan African nations in recent times, a lot of potential with other developing nations still remains untapped. In fact, South Asia as a whole has remained closed off to the rest of the world, due to a lack of economic integration.

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 conducive 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.

They shall consider joint practical counter-terrorism measures in line with specific circumstances in the region and in each member country. The Community should also strengthen national and regional capacities to counter terrorism and other trans-national crimes, and ensure that the Southeast Asian region remains free of all weapons of mass destruction. To establish modalities for the Community, the ASEAN leaders agreed that Indonesia would develop a Plan of Action for the ASEAN Security Community. The Ministers issued a joint communiqué which noted encouraging developments on nuclear disarmament and welcomed the negotiations between the United States and Russia. They also recalled the commitment of the People’s Republic of China to no first use of nuclear weapons. Also, the Ministers hoped that participating countries in the Conference on Disarmament would resume talks on disarmament, as called for in Article VI of the Non-Proliferation Treaty .