India's Prime Minister Comes to Washington

Editor's Note: This analysis is written by Middle East and South Asia analyst Michael Nayebi-Oskoui. 

The United States is the latest stop in Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's effort to attract strategic investment deals for India. Relying on his reputation as a business-savvy leader, Modi wants international support—both technical and financial—to help India overcome its considerable infrastructural and developmental challenges. 

Modi is trying to overhaul India's reputation abroad by touting the country as a promising investment, but outstanding structural issues will hamper that agenda. The country's geopolitical situation has thus far proved difficult for Modi to overcome, but if there is to be any hope for strategic investment deals in the future, India will need to undergo serious domestic reform, leaving any meaningful investment or development projects out of reach for years to come.