Prime Minister Vajpayee: Wants to keep some issues low

In the years since the end of the Cold War, Pakistan and India were seen as twin planets orbiting each other - policy towards one seen in terms of its impact on relations with the other.

That has now changed.

The relationship with India is becoming institutionalised with the day-to-day issues of economics, business, health and investment taking their place among the more high-profile concerns over nuclear weapons and a settlement for Kashmir.

Kashmir concerns

Reports from Delhi suggest that Mr Vajpayee is keen to keep the last two low on the Washington agenda.

If this is true, it is unrealistic.

President Clinton himself has described Kashmir as the "most dangerous place on earth".

Kashmir conflict: A growing source of concern

The possibility of confrontation between India and Pakistan spinning out of control and one side or the other resorting to nuclear weapons is taken seriously in Washington.

The US imposed economic and military sanctions on India (and Pakistan) when it carried out its nuclear test in May 1998, and has since pressed both countries to sign the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty - but to no avail.

And while the president "will not embarrass his guest by criticising India openly, they will be major points of concern behind closed doors," says Teresita Schaffer, a former ambassador in South Asia.

Nor is progress on nuclear weapons expected this time round.

"The Americans are bound to raise it - it's an obsession of theirs," says Stephen Cohen, a South Asia specialist at Brookings Institution.

"But I don't foresee the visit changing anyone's mind."

Dr Cohen says "nuclear disarmament is not an option in South Asia."

American efforts, he argues, would be better spent trying to prevent further proliferation of nuclear materials.

Business interests

If anything does come out of Mr Vajpayee's visit it is likely to be in business and trade.

"Business is where most of the action is going to be"

Former ambassador Teresita Schaffer

"Business is where most of the action is going to be," says Teresita Schaffer.

India's economy is now growing at 6% to 7% a year, one of the fastest in the world.

And while foreign investors are still looking for more liberalisation and cutting of Indian red tape, there is a growing sense among American companies that opportunity is in the offing.

Some 500,000 Indians have gone to the US over the past 20 years - many of them into the information technology sector.

Indians dominate much of the software industry, with companies like Sun Microsystems, Hotmail and Cirrus Logic founded or lead by Indians.

Expatriates

A growing number of Indian-American entrepreneurs are beginning to set up counterpart companies back in India - a trend Mr Vajpayee will strongly encourage at his various meetings with the Indian-American community in Washington.

IT is assuming growing importance

Perhaps the most obvious mark of the importance now attached to the relationship with India is the invitation to the prime minister to address the full Congress.

Such occasions tend to be uncontroversial, with emphasis on the positive factors in the relationship.

In keeping with this, Mr Vajpayee will stress the two countries' shared democratic experience and the potential for increased trade, but avoid mention of either nuclear weapons or Kashmir.