In Asia: Weekly Insight and Features from Asia

We welcome President Barack Obama with open arms, not just out of customary habit among friends. South Koreans share the world’s interest in President Obama’s global activities because he embodies a new path for the United States in international relations as well as in ties with old allies like us.

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South Korea is highly motivated to play the roles of host and chair of the G20 in 2010, following Britain’s chairmanship in 2009. This is a historic moment since it will be the first time that a non-G7 country has been engaged in leading global financial coordination efforts. There is much at stake for Korea and for the international community precisely because success will strengthen the credibility of the G20 process, while failure may underscore the need for further reevaluation and raise questions regarding the merits of the G20 as the premier forum for global financial governance.

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With Hamid Karzai declared the winner of Afghanistan’s highly controversial presidential election, President Obama’s decision regarding future U.S. policy toward that country is considered imminent. As part of his deliberations, Mr. Obama has received the assessment of his military commanders, the advice of his top civilian leaders, and the views of NATO allies, among others.

Now there is one more piece of information that should be added to this mix, namely what the Afghan people are thinking.

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President Obama will wrap up his Asia trip with a visit to South Korea today, where negotiations over North Korea’s nuclear ambitions will undoubtedly be high on the list of talking points. Perhaps not on the agenda, but on the minds of both leaders are the mounting development challenges around the globe.

To address such challenges, The Asia Foundation, in cooperation with KDI School of Public Policy and Management and the Korean Association of International Development and Cooperation, will hold a conference November 24-25 in Seoul to focus on development issues and strategies in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.

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In Bangladesh’s ancient capital, along the banks of the Meghna River, two groups of formerly nomadic people have settled. They have survived for decades without electricity, basic services, or access to schools. One made home on the small island of Mayadip in the early 1980s, after massive flooding in the south displaced them, and they rely on the river’s catch of fish. The other still dwells aboard traditional boats along the river, in Sonargoan village, going ashore only to sell wares. A local NGO has recently begun providing schooling to these forgotten people – and Books for Asia is helping out. Each child at the two new schools were given a book of their choosing – a rare, and now prized, possession. View a slideshow of life along the Meghna, and the children in class with their new books.

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Kurunegala, the capital of Sri Lanka’s Northwestern province, derives its name from an elephant-shaped rock, reaching 316 meters at an altitude of 116 meters above sea level. Situated 94 kilometers from Colombo, the region is known for its huge, rocky outcrops that charm visitors with their resemblance to different animal shapes.

Its proximity to a number of famous sights and its temperate climate also makes Kurunegala a prominent transit town for travelers, especially tourists. An estimated 100,000 people travel through Kurunegala daily, far surpassing the town’s resident population of 40,000.

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The National Library of the Philippines stands in the center of Manila as a grand monument and national resource center to the country’s hero José Rizal, a doctor, writer, reformist, and proclaimed hero of the Philippine Revolution. Formally observed as the National Library in 1901, the library moved into its existing building, inaugurated by President Ramon Magsaysay’s successor, Carlos P. Garcia, on Rizal’s 100th birthday 60 years later.

From its humble beginning over 100 years ago, The National Library has grown to become a dedicated institution, tasked to manage 1,238 affiliated public libraries across the Philippines composed of one regional public library and four congressional, 49 provincial, 101 city, 577 municipal, and 506 Barangay or public community libraries throughout the country.

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This week Barack Obama will make his first trip to Asia as President of the United States. In addition to paying state visits to China, Japan, and South Korea, President Obama will meet with 20 national leaders in Singapore to attend the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. Although member countries vary in economic clout individually, APEC economies collectively represent 55 percent of the world’s gross domestic product, 45 percent of global trade, and 40 percent of the world’s population.

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When President Obama makes his first visit to China next week, he will meet a Chinese leadership with growing confidence in international affairs and observe an economy that is rapidly recovering from the global recession. At the same time, he will witness a country whose legal and political landscape is replete with contradictory trends and vexing anomalies. While official firewalls continue to impede free access to the Internet, for instance, the government has issued national Open Government Information (OGI) regulations that have enhanced government transparency and increased the information rights of individual citizens. And while China remains a one-party state that consistently ranks at the bottom of international indices on “voice” and political participation, government authorities are taking concrete steps, amidst growing public demand, to enhance opportunities for citizens to participate in the formulation of laws and government decisions that will affect their daily lives.

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On November 15, after the APEC Leaders meeting, President Barack Obama will meet with the leaders of all 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for the first-ever U.S.-ASEAN summit. For the past 12 years, both the Clinton and Bush administrations resisted calls for a U.S.-ASEAN summit over concern that because Burma is a member of ASEAN, such a summit would amount to acceptance of bilateral talks with Burma. The Obama Administration has said they are not going to punish the other nine ASEAN members simply because Burma is in the room, and has been careful to say this is not a bilateral. Since taking office in January, the Obama administration has shown from the start that it wishes to engage Southeast Asia in a more comprehensive manner, through ASEAN, rather than as a set of 10 bilateral relationships. This is both significant and welcome.

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