South Asia

Bangladesh has witnessed a phenomenal economic transformation in the last 50 years. This has been possible due to the exogenous support in the form of external aid and general market access as well as endogenous endeavours like people's resilience and their entrepreneurial spirit. Its social indices for development such as life expectancy, gender equality, women's empowerment and access to sanitary facilities are better than its South Asian neighbours. Early this year. the COVID-19 pandemic caught the country off-guard, but under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, a stimulus package was quickly announced to get the economy back on track. With so many positives, this is a country worth watching. Apart from this feature story, the newsletter looks at the impact of COVID-19 on the South Asian region, celebrates 50 years of bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and Singapore, offers insights into the Maldives and highlights Pakistan's United Nation peacekeeping missions. It also presents the key events and publications at ISAS.