The United States seeks to support an integrated and interconnected landscape of trade and economic opportunity in South and Central Asia, a top US official has said.
"South and Central Asia is a region of extraordinary geographic, linguistic, and cultural diversity. It is a region of great natural beauty, vibrant societies and a region in the midst of great transition," Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Nisha Desai Biswal, said during her swearing in ceremony at the Foggy Bottom headquarters yesterday.
"The rebalance to Asia is fundamentally about the recognition that this continent, including South and Central Asia will play a growing role in global politics, security, and economics in the 21st century, and that the prosperity and security of the United States is vitally linked to the prosperity and security of Asia," Biswal said
With the nascent political transition in Myanmar, there is a historic opportunity to connect the countries of South Asia with the countries of Southeast Asia in an integrated economic landscape, she said at the ceremony which was attended by top officials of the Obama administration.
"And we see India, already an economic and global power, making key investments in infrastructure to capacitate that connectivity with the economies of ASEAN," Biswal added.
By some estimates, Asia will make up 50 per cent of global GDP in the coming decades, she said.
"It can realize this extraordinary potential only if the countries of the region address the challenges of inadequate governance, pervasive corruption, countering terrorism and violent extremism, advancing human dignity and human rights, promoting sustainable and inclusive growth, and protecting the environment and mitigating global climate change," she noted.
Noting that the much talked about elections in Afghanistan in 2014 is not the only one, Biswal said there are political transitions in five of the countries of South and Central Asia between this fall and next spring.
"Many are apprehensive about the elections that lie ahead. But there's also great opportunity in the region as we seek to support an integrated and interconnected landscape of trade and economic opportunity," she said.
