shing.
The proximity to nearby oil- and gas-producing sedimentary basins
suggests the potential for oil and gas deposits, but the region is
largely unexplored; there are no reliable estimates of potential
reserves; commercial exploitation has yet to be developed.

Sri Lanka
In 1977, Colombo abandoned statist economic policies and
its import substitution trade policy for market-oriented policies
and export-oriented trade. Sri Lanka's most dynamic sectors now are
food processing, textiles and apparel, food and beverages,
telecommunications, and insurance and banking. In 2003, plantation
crops made up only 15% of exports (compared with 93% in 1970), while
textiles and garments accounted for 63%. GDP grew at an average
annual rate of 5.5% in the early 1990s until a drought and a
deteriorating security situation lowered growth to 3.8% in 1996. The
economy rebounded in 1997-2000 with average growth of 5.3%, but 2001
saw the first contraction in the country's history, -1.4%, due to a
combination of power shortages, severe budgetary problems, the
global slowdown, and continuing civil strife. Growth recovered to
4.0% in 2002 and to 5.2% in both 2003 and 2004. About 800,000 Sri
Lankans work abroad, 90% in the Middle East. They send home about $1
billion a year. The struggle by the Tamil Tigers of the north and
east for a largely independent homeland continues to cast a shadow
over the economy. In late December 2004, a major tsunami took about
31,000 lives, left more than 6,300 missing and 443,000 displaced,
and destroyed an estimated $1.5 billion worth of property.

Sudan
Sudan has turned around a struggling economy with sound
economic policies and infrastructure investments, but it still faces
formidable economic problems, starting from its low level of per
capita output. From 1997 to date, Sudan has been implementing IMF
macroeconomic reforms. In 1999, Sudan began exporting crude oil and
in the last quarter of 1999 recorded its first trade surplus, which,
along with monetary policy, has stabilized the exchange rate.
Increased oil production, revived light industry, and expanded
export processing zones helped sustain GDP growth at 6.4% in 2004.
Agriculture production remains Sudan's most important sector,
employing 80% of the work force, contributing 39% of GDP, and
accounting for most of GDP growth, but most farms remain rain-fed
and susceptible to dr