In that year, Sian went to Sri Lanka and Thailand, to report live from the Asian tsunami and later that year, the Pakistan earthquake struck and she spent a week at the centre of the disaster, presenting for all the BBC's news programmes, from Breakfast, through to the Ten O'clock News.
India, in addition to its free trade pact with ASEAN, has bilateral trade agreements with Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.
Other offers of aid and assistance have come in from countries around the world -- including from India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Indonesia, the four countries hardest-hit by the December 26 Asian tsunami.
There are some 200, 000 in the country -- about 165, 000 from Indonesia, with the remainder mainly from the Philippines, plus Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Thailand.
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Brunei, Bhutan, Cambodia, East Timor, India, Indonesia, Iran, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.
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Imagine if India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Sumatra all had nuclear power plants along their shores, when the 2004 9.2 magnitude earthquake and tsunami, with waves up to 98 feet hit those shores.
But among those who have studied disasters in the developing world, there is a more important issue, one that has so far been little discussed: the longer-term economic implications the affected countries such as India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Indonesia may face.
Mr Chowdhury points out that this cumbersomely named grouping is the only one in the region that includes countries to both the west (Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka) and east (Thailand) of Myanmar.
In South Korea, Thailand, Sri Lanka and India, tutorial schools use star tutors to attract even more students.
The same sample reported that Indonesia's destitution measure was barely 8%, Sri Lanka's was below that and Thailand's lower still.
"The United States stands ready to offer all appropriate assistance to those nations most affected including Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Thailand, and Indonesia, as well as the other countries impacted, " the statement said.
He said messages of condolence have been sent to India, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
The luxury Soneva resort chain, with properties in the Maldives, Thailand, Greece and Sri Lanka, is striving to fully decarbonise by 2015.
Nations like Cambodia, Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, China and Bangladesh (just to name a few) have risen up and provided real supply to meet real demand for lower-cost manufacturing.
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The British government is still advising against non-essential travel to Sri Lanka's eastern, southern and south-west coasts or to Thailand's west coast.
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