How Many Countries In Asia?

Due to tectonic shifts of the various Pacific plates, strong earthquakes repeatedly occur in these regions, which in turn trigger volcanoes and tsunamis. As the importance of the region increases in the globalizing world, both generalist and specialist knowledge about Southeast Asia become critical to the world and the region itself. In that sense, Southeast Asian studies as a knowledge construct transforms itself into a lived reality, especially for the Southeast Asians themselves.

Rapidly rising populations have dramatically increased demand for forest products. While more of Asia’s forests have come under environmental protection, lenient legislation and enforcement has allowed illegal logging and timber smuggling to flourish. This is especially true in Southeast Asia, where high-value species are found. As a result, Asian countries have some of the worst deforestation rates in the world.

More than six languages are spoken in the country, where Urdu is considered as the lingua franca with the understandability by over 75% of the total population. English is the official language, which is primarily used in official business, government and legal contracts. The Punjabi language is mostly spoken in Punjab, Saraiki in South Punjab, and Pashto in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Balochistan.

New inventions, including the use of interchangeable parts, the Bessemer steel production process, and the assembly line for mass production, helped significantly increase manufacturing output and production systems. Responsibilities include managing the U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum Cabinet-level bilateral trade dialogue, including coordinating the TPF’s four Working Groups and the Private Sector Advisory Group . Other areas of emphasis include leading the Trade and Investment Council Meetings under the U.S. Trade and Investment Framework Agreements with Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Iraq and the Central Asian states. Join our community of educators and receive the latest information on National Geographic's resources for you and your students. Europe's rich agricultural and industrial diversity has made the continent a center of commerce and culture for centuries.

Today, the term “Asia” is used as a cultural concept, while subregion classifications describe the distinct geopolitical identities of the continent. These classifications are Western Asia, Central Asia, Southern Asia, Eastern Asia, Southeastern Asia, and Northern Asia. At their 6th Meeting in Singapore from 23 to 24 July, the ASEAN Foreign Ministers convened the Commission of the SEANWFZ Treaty for the first time. The Commission ordered the preparation of the draft rules of procedure and initiation of all necessary actions in compliance with the Treaty, including consultations with the NWS, the IAEA, and other related bodies.

Southeast Asian Country

On 24 September at the 2nd ASEAN-US Leaders’ Meeting in New York, ASEAN welcomed the U.S. announcement at the 2010 NPT Review Conference that it is prepared to engage in consultations to resolve issues which have prevented it from acceding to the SEANWFZ Protocol. The statement also congratulated the United States on the successful outcome of the Nuclear Security Summit and promised the support of ASEAN countries to work towards preventing nuclear terrorism. At the 18th ASEAN Summit, which took place in May, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia called upon member states of ASEAN to lower their dependency on fossil fuels and search for alternative methods to produce energy. Given the nuclear catastrophe in Japan, Mr. Yudhoyono stated that nuclear energy needs to be reexamined. On 1 November, China deposited its instrument of ratification of the Third Protocol Amending the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia .

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More than 75 percent of the city’s population is male, represented mostly by laborers from countries such as India and the Philippines who have come to work in Dubai’s construction business. The laborers’ poor working and living conditions have come under criticism from the international community, especially in contrast to the city’s image as a luxury capital of the world. The continent’s north/central zone is affected by cold and dry Arctic winds, especially the Siberia region of Russia. Hardier grains, such as barley, buckwheat, millet, oats, and wheat, are grown in the central and southern areas of this zone, where permanent frosts inhibit plant growth.

Diversity And Sensitivity In The Workplace: Understanding Asian Pacific American Staff

With increased capital inflows, thecurrent account deficitof the majority of South Asian nations has reduced. Though the currencies have declined against the U.S. dollar, the decline served beneficially to generate more revenues from exports. The same assisted in building highforex reserves, as South Asia received high inflows ofremittances.

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.

Forestry, the management of trees and other vegetation in forests, is an important but threatened industry in a select group of Asian countries. China, Indonesia, and Malaysia make up more than half of the forested lands in Asia. China is a major exporter of wood products, ranking first globally in wood-based panel production, paper, and wood furniture. These tropical woods, such as teak, are primarily used in high-quality furniture and flooring. The “ASEAN Vision 2020” adopted in Kuala Lumpur on 15 December, by the Heads of State/Government of ASEAN, envisioned a “Concert of Southeast Asian Nations” to be in 2020 a Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality, as envisaged in the Kuala Lumpur Declaration of 1971.

On 27 May, the ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime, through the Working Group on Cybercrime, finalized a “roadmap” for ASEAN members to combat cybercrime through regional information sharing, capacity building, and enforcement regulation. This was followed by the 9th ASEAN-Japan Counter-Terrorism Dialogue on May in Singapore. The meeting covered counter-terrorism in a variety of fields, including CBRN explosives and cyber-terrorism.