Asian Development Bank

The largest of the Asian countries by area is Russia, which occupies about 30% of the total territory of the continent. The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have dramatically increased food insecurity in some of the poorest and most vulnerable countries in the Asia Pacific region. Join the Asia-Pacific Rural Development and Food Security Forum 2022 on March to learn more on critical issues on food security.

Another important issue relates to the exploitation of migrants from the region. While it is incorrect to depict all such migrants as victims subject to exploitation, there can be no doubt that some groups are vulnerable to exploitation of a number of kinds. This is particularly the case among some groups of female migrants, especially those who work in occupations where protection is difficult, such as domestic workers in private homes and in the entertainment industry. Those who are undocumented are especially vulnerable to exploitation but lack of knowledge and local languages and customs can also increase vulnerability of immigrants. Understate the scale and impact of remittances nationally, there can be no doubt that their impact within regions of South and Southeast Asian countries is much greater.

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.

At the same time, as most South Asian countries are not huge importers of finished goods, many are involved in importing raw commodities to manufacture finished goods for export. Still, cheaper imports have allowed the manufacturing of finished products at lower costs, offering a competitive advantage for international exports. This article explores the economic potential of South Asian countries, and what makes each of these nations have the next high-growth potential. The Asian Development Bank is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty.

Asian Countries

Asia is the largest of the world’s continents, covering approximately 30 percent of the Earth’s land area. It is also the world’s most populous continent, with roughly 60 percent of the total population. Leaders endorsed the Vientiane Action Programme to implement the ASEAN Vision 2020 for the next six years and agreed to mobilize resources for this purpose.

Russia is the largest country in Asia, despite the fact that a full 25% of Russia's 17,098,250 square kilometers of territory is located in Europe . China comes in second in Asia, with a total area of approximately 9,600,010 km². Finally, the dividing lines between continents are sometimes ambiguous, especially at sea. The island country of Cyprus, for example, is considered by the United Nations to be part of Asia, but it is also a member of the European Union. Similarly, many islands of Oceania could arguably be considered part of Asia, Australia/Australasia, or even South America. Even land boundaries, such as the dividing line between Europe and Asia, have changed throughout history.

International Migration By Ethnic South And Southeast Asians

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.

Both sides adopted the Joint Declaration for Cooperation to Combat International Terrorism. The 40th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting and 14th ARF were held in Manila from 22 July through 2 August. At the Ministerial Meeting, participants reflected on the implementation of the South East Asian Nuclear Weapons Free Zone. The Ministers called upon the NWS to ratify the protocols to the treaty and for the accession of Israel, India and Pakistan to the treaty. In his statement, the Chairman called for the DPRK to comply with UNSC resolutions and for all parties to return to the Six-Party Talks. The Chairman also recognized the Philippines’ Presidency of the 2010 NPT Review Conference and encouraged ASEAN Member States to become signatories or parties to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty prior to the Review Conference.

Southeast Asia

Get information on country economic data and analysis, development assistance, and regional initiatives. Outside Southeast Asia, such as in Japan and the United States of America, very rarely, specialization in Southeast Asian studies, or components of, has been considered highly desired in the job market of the public sector. Perhaps having a graduate-level qualification in Southeast Asian studies is more marketable in the public sector especially in government of semi-government bodies that deals with diplomatic relations or intelligence. It was the success of Vietnamese and Chinese innovatory public health policies that served as models for the World Health Organization's primary health care approach and goal of ‘Health for All by Year 2000’ enunciated in the Alma Ata Declaration of 1978. Since then all Southeast Asian countries have instituted some kind of PHC care system, and at least formal support for PHC principles of equity, popular participation, and affordable and culturally appropriate health care.

India is the largest country of South Asia and the seventh-largest country in the world by area. Because of the vastness of the country and variety of culture within different states, there is no national language in India. However, Hindi is the official language of the government and is spoken by the majority of people. English also has the status of official language in the country and is used extensively in higher education, business and education.

Southeast Asia is also a major producer of tropical fruits, such as mango, papaya, and pineapple. India is the world’s largest mango-producing nation, accounting for roughly 40 percent of total global output in 2010. The TAC stated that ASEAN political and security dialogue and cooperation should aim to promote regional peace and stability by enhancing regional resilience. Regional resilience shall be achieved by cooperating in all fields based on the principles of self-confidence, self-reliance, mutual respect, cooperation, and solidarity, which shall constitute the foundation for a strong and viable community of nations in Southeast Asia. These conjectures, however, are very difficult to evaluate empirically because the emergence and characteristics of family planning programs are correlated with other determinants of fertility decline, most notably socioeconomic development. It is bordered by India to the east, Afghanistan to the west, Iran to the southwest and China in the far northeast.

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.

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.

South & Central Asia

Contracting Parties agree not to participate in any activity that constitutes a threat to the political and economic stability, sovereignty, or territorial integrity of another Contracting Party. The 28th ASEAN Chiefs of Police Conference took place from 25 to 29 May and adopted resolutions addressing cooperation in preventing terrorism and arms smuggling. At the 13th ASEAN-ROK Summit, held during the 17th ASEAN Summit, the Chairman’s statement reaffirmed support for a complete and verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. It also encouraged both parties to implement the Joint Statement of 19 September 2005 and to resume the Six Party Talks and the implementation of relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions. On 4 May, H.E. Mr. Pham Binh Minh, First Deputy-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Viet Nam, spoke on behalf of ASEAN at the 2010 NPT Review Conference in New York. In his statement, he noted that ASEAN continues to work with nuclear weapon states for the early signing of the SEANWFZ Protocol.