Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty quotes South Asia Center Director Shuja Nawz on India’s new prime minister: 

But Modi does have a sweetener that could win over skeptics. His political rise in Gujarat was accompanied by economic growth even as India as a whole struggled, and with India using economic diplomacy as a springboard for better ties with Pakistan, analysts say there is room for business.

“One of the fastest ways of [reviving the economy] is by integrating India’s economy into that of the region,” says Shuja Nawaz, director of the South Asia Center at the Atlantic Council of the United States in Washington.