In a further sign of strengthening U.S.-India relations, Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee appeared before a joint session of Congress yesterday to urge closer economic and political ties that he said would help erase the "shadow of hesitation" that still persists between the two countries.

At the same time, Vajpayee gave no indication that India was ready to accede to American pressure to curb the nuclear weapons program it announced to the world by exploding an underground nuclear device in May 1998.

"Security issues have cast a shadow on our relationship. I believe this is unnecessary. We have much in common and no clash of interests," Vajpayee said, adding, "Let us remove the shadow of hesitation that lies between us and our joint vision."

Vajpayee found his audience in a receptive mood. Despite concerns about proliferation, Democrats and Republicans alike have welcomed the Clinton administration's efforts to forge closer relations with India, the world's most populous democracy and a trading partner of vast and largely untapped potential. Their enthusiasm reflects, in part, the growing political and economic clout of Indian Americans, one of the nation's most prosperous immigrant groups and a driving force in its booming computer and software industries.

Indian Americans are being courted by the Democratic and Republican presidential campaigns and will be heavily represented at official functions during Vajpayee's four-day visit, including an official dinner at the White House. On Friday, Vice President Gore will host a lunch for the Hindu nationalist leader. Vajpayee is also said to be seeking an opportunity to meet with senior advisers to Texas Gov. George W. Bush (R).

"There's somewhere between one and two million of them, they are very active and they are very influential in serving as a bridge between the two countries," a senior administration official said of Indian Americans. "These people go back and forth a lot, they invest in India, and they're very critical in the information technology business."

Vajpayee's warm reception in Washington contrasts sharply with the treatment accorded Pakistani ruler Gen. Pervez Musharraf during his trip to New York for the U.N. Millennium Summit last week. Once a close Cold War ally, Pakistan, India's archrival, has since run afoul of the United States for its links to radical Islam, including Afghanistan's ruling Taliban movement. Musharraf, who overthrew a corrupt but democratically elected government last year, was rebuffed in his efforts to see Clinton.

"It's not that we don't want to talk to him--we do communicate with him," a State Department official said. "But a meeting with the president would give the appearance that we endorse the military regime."

Because of its nuclear weapons program, India remains subject to modest U.S. economic sanctions, and Washington has continued to press Vajpayee's government to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. That campaign, however, has been complicated by the Senate's rejection of the accord last year; U.S. policymakers, meanwhile, have begun to talk less about proliferation concerns and more about the need to build stronger bridges to one of the world's fastest-growing economies.

"The best way to encapsulate this is that the day Vajpayee came to Washington, [Microsoft Chairman] Bill Gates was in New Delhi," said the senior administration official, noting that much of Vajpayee's time will be taken up in discussions about reducing trade barriers between the two countries. "On every issue that matters to Americans in their foreign policy in the 21st century, India will be an important if not critical player."

Vajpayee's visit follows Clinton's landmark tour of India in March, the first by an American president since 1978. The Indian leader, who is 73, had hoped to visit Silicon Valley but cut short his itinerary in part because of health problems, including an arthritic knee that forced him to deliver his speech sitting down.

On nuclear issues, Vajpayee's speech was noncommittal but conciliatory, noting that India had declared a voluntary moratorium on testing and emphasizing that "India shares your concerns" about proliferation.

But he also emphasized the economic component of U.S.-India relations, boasting of India's recent efforts to open its banking, insurance and telecommunications sectors to outside investment, for example. The message appeared to resonate with lawmakers. Rep. Benjamin A. Gilman (R-N.Y.), chairman of the House International Relations Committee, said there is a growing sentiment in Washington that "India is surrounded by a lot of troubled neighbors" and that the sanctions may be proving counterproductive.

"I think there's an open mind both within the Congress and the administration to be of some help in terms of easing the sanctions," Gilman said.

Staff writer Matthew Vita contributed to this report.