South And Central Asian Affairs

The principal treatment of Asian historical and cultural development is contained in the articles on Asian countries, regions, and cities and in the articles Palestine, history of and Islamic world. Related topics are discussed in articles on religion (e.g., Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam) and arts and literature (e.g., Chinese literature, Japanese literature, Central Asian arts, Southeast Asian arts, and South Asian arts). The mountain systems of Central Asia not only have provided the continent’s great rivers with water from their melting snows but also have formed a forbidding natural barrier that has influenced the movement of peoples in the area. Migration across those barriers has been possible only through mountain passes.

The meeting discussed the situation in Southeast Asia after the Vietnam cease-fire and proposed the holding of a 10-nation conference of ASEAN members, the Indochina countries and Burma. Since the governments in Southeast Asia have been the biggest public sector investors in education, through public-funded educational institutions, they have been the largest employment provider. They have set their own preferences and priorities, in accordance to their general framework of manpower planning, in deciding what type of graduates and in which fields of specialization they want to employ them. The pattern in Southeast Asian countries has been well established, that is, there is a higher demand for science graduates than the social sciences and the humanities. But amongst the latter there is no clear, expressed demand for Southeast Asian studies graduates. However, there seems to be a significant demand for the inclusion of the Southeast Asian studies content in all the non-natural science courses at the undergraduate level in most of the government-funded academic institutions in Southeast Asia.

India

The ASEAN Regional Forum is an important multilateral forum for political and security consultations and cooperation. The ARF has begun to explore activities where there is overlap between confidence-building measures and preventive diplomacy. ASEAN Member States are urged to settle disputes through friendly negotiations applying the procedures of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation of 1976. However, the Member States are not obliged to use the Treaty stipulations for the peaceful settlement of disputes.

Food Security In Asia And The Pacific

On 15 November, Thailand deposited its instrument of ratification of the Third Protocol Amending the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia . Maintaining peace, stability, maritime security and safety and peaceful settlements of disputes on the basis of international laws. The 46th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting took place from 27 June-2 July in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam. Prince Mohamed Bolkiah, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Brunei Darussalum, chaired the meeting. At the meeting, parties adopted the Plan of Action to Strengthen the Implementation of the Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free-Zone, which continued to encourage compliance with the SEANFWZ Treaty and cooperation with the IAEA. The Joint Communique released by the AMM also expressed support for the SEANWFZ Treaty and encouraged transparency in the interests of nuclear safety.

Countries Of The Asia

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.

A historical movement of population from the arid zones of Central Asia has followed the mountain passes into the Indian subcontinent. More recent migrations have originated in China, with destinations throughout Southeast Asia. The Korean and Japanese peoples and, to a lesser extent, the Chinese have remained ethnically more homogeneous than the populations of other Asian countries. Asia’s coastline—some 39,000 miles in length—is, variously, high and mountainous, low and alluvial, terraced as a result of the land’s having been uplifted, or “drowned” where the land has subsided. The specific features of the coastline in some areas—especially in the east and southeast—are the result of active volcanism; thermal abrasion of permafrost , as in northeastern Siberia; and coral growth, as in the areas to the south and southeast. Accreting sandy beaches also occur in many areas, such as along the Bay of Bengal and the Gulf of Thailand.

Asia makes up the eastern portion of the Eurasian supercontinent; Europe occupies the western portion. However, most geographers define Asia’s western border as an indirect line that follows the Ural Mountains, the Caucasus Mountains, and the Caspian and Black seas. The ASEAN leaders and Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee of India held talks on the issue of terrorism and agreed to enhance cooperation in fighting terrorism.