The South Asian Outlook is an independent e-Monthly by South Asians for South Asians living in South Asia, people of South Asian origin who are settled in different parts of the world and for all those who are interested in the rich cultural heritage of South Asia, its diversity, its complexity and its vitality.

The GlobalomNet Media - a new transatlantic venture with two headquarters, in Canada for North America and in Germany for the Euro-Mediterranean region - publishes the South Asian Outlook. The GlobalomNet Media also publishes the independent monthly e-Journal The Global South.

The World Bank defines South Asia as a region comprising of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. We have oriented ourselves to South Asia as perceived by the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). However, in view of the importance of Afghanistan to the region and beyond, the South Asian News page also provides links to sources giving news on that volatile country. 

SAARC was established in 1985 at the First SAARC Summit held in Dhaka, Bangladesh, even though the ideas for a regional grouping of South Asian nations had been mooted since 1980. Currently made up of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, SAARC's main goal is to accelerate economic and social development in member states through joint action in certain agreed areas of cooperation.

The potential of countries in the SAARC region is vast and yet much of it is untapped. There are some identifiable reasons for this: internal and external conflicts within and between member states, rigid and inflexible economic policies as well as unnecessary bureaucracy and rampant corruption.

However, many improvements are now taking place as a pragmatic approach towards solving economic and social troubles gains acceptance among the member states. After all, there are many more good reasons for promoting regional co-operation: reducing danger of external intervention, reducing, political, military and economic tensions within the region, expanding trade and other economic ties within a much larger market formed by the reduction and elimination of trade barriers, co-ordinating measures for mutual benefit in diverse areas ranging from poverty eradication to environmental protection, and Improving the already close cultural links that exist among the South Asian states.

To date, South Asia remains a symbol of Eastern Promise - golden opportunities yet to be realised. SAARC may be the catalyst that helps to promote fulfilment of the dream.

We believe that some 20 million South Asians originating from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, who are spread around the world - in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Caribbean, North America and South America - can contribute to making that dream a reality. - The Publisher & Managing Editor