South And Central Asian Affairs

Individual country pages link to the official government website as well as major news sources and statistical agencies. Sri Lanka is an island country in South Asia with borders to India and Maldives. The official languages are Sinhalese and Tamil and English is the link language. English is widely used across the nation for education, scientific and commercial purposes. Members of the Burgher community speak different forms of Portuguese Creole and Dutch, while members of the Malay community speak a form of Creole Malay. The official and common language of the country is Dhivehi, which is an Indo-Aryan language.

Food Security In Asia And The Pacific

This zone has very few areas with enough moisture and precipitation to produce crops. Grains, such as barley and corn, are the principal irrigated crops of some countries. A lack of pastureland suitable for grains, however, means heat-resistant vegetables and fruits are grown most widely in this zone. Dates, figs, apricots, olives, onions, grapes, and cherries are the most important of these fruit and vegetable crops. Asia’s stake in world markets has grown dramatically in the last half-century.

Microsoft’s largest research and development campus outside the United States is in the HITEC complex. The high temperatures and precipitation levels of Southeast Asia are the perfect conditions for the production of rice and tropical fruits. Rice is one of Asia’s most important agricultural commodities and a major food staple of the entire continent. In 2010, Asia harvested almost 570 million metric tons of rice, accounting for more than 50 percent of the continent’s total cereal production—and roughly 90 percent of total global rice production. Asia also has the highest rates of rice consumption, averaging more than 79 kilograms per person annually. As a result, the majority of Asia’s rice stays within the region and international trade rates are fairly low.

The statement outlined the group’s goals in relation to nuclear nonproliferation, disarmament and peaceful uses of nuclear energy. The chairman addressed the commitment to a region free of weapons of mass destruction. On May, the 10th annual ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting was held in Vientiane, Laos. The Joint Declaration of the 10th ADMM reiterates all Member States’ commitment to responding effectively to transnational crimes and transboundary challenges. On August 5, the ASEAN released a statement of the development in the Korean Peninsula, reiterating grave concern over the escalation of tensions in the peninsula.

Sindhi and Balochi are prominent languages in Sindh and Balochistan accordingly. Similar to Afghanistan, Bhutan is also a landlocked country in South Asia, situated at the eastern end of the Himalayas. It is bordered to the north by China and to the south, east and west by India. The national language of Bhutan is Bhutanese , one of the 53 languages in the Tibetan language family.

Related Global Studies And Area Studies Guides

Below is a list of all the Asian countries and territories, in order of geographical area. The land boundary between Asia and Europe is a historical and cultural construct that has been defined variously; only as a matter of agreement is it tied to a specific borderline. Thus, the isthmus between the Black and Caspian seas, which culminates in the Caucasus mountain range to the south, is part of Asia. The Second Industrial Revolution took place in Europe and the United States between the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Many natural resources that are very common in one part of the world are almost nonexistent in others. For instance, while many countries have systems in place to treat and distribute clean drinking water, in many other countries around the globe, communities may only have access to untreated or contaminated water. Understanding the distribution of resources around the world helps us understand regional and global economies, and helps us think critically about how to make sure that all communities have the resources they need to thrive.

Western Asia

The Bali Regional Ministerial Meeting on Counter-Terrorism, co-hosted by Australia and Indonesia, met on 4-5 February. The 1st East Asia Summit was convened on 14 December, with a view to establishing closer and substantial relations between the member countries of ASEAN and the participating countries of India, China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and the Republic of Korea. A landmark event was the signing of a Declaration on the Establishment of the ASEAN Charter by its leaders.

Leaders also recognized the role of inter-faith dialogue in fighting the spread of terrorism and promoting understanding. On 2 April, Foreign Ministers of ASEAN member states began a two day summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Deputy Assistant of State for Strategy and Multilateral Affairs gave a lecture on U.S. multilateralism and Asia. The lecture was given on the 35th anniversary of U.S.-ASEAN relations, and covered America’s role in promoting stability, fostering democracy and human rights, as well as encouraging economic development. Being the biggest continent in the world, Asia includes 50 independent countries and occupies the eastern part of the single Eurasian landmass.

The Tōkaidō line, which connects Tokyo and Osaka, is the world’s busiest high-speed rail line. Since the railway lines were laid in the mid-1960s, it has transported roughly 5 billion people. An oil refinery is a factory where crude oil is processed and refined into useful products, such as gasoline, kerosene, and diesel oil. Referred to as the “Refining Capital of the World,” Jamnagar has a refining capacity of 1.24 million barrels of oil per day.