On Friday, Mishra switched roles and was engaged in extensive discussions with US Trade Representative Charlene Barshevsky and Commerce Secretary William Daley to match notes on the upcoming World Trade Organisation (WTO) meeting in Seattle late November and also clear some of the gremlins that are stalling expanded Indo-US trade ties.

The discussions are also expected to cover areas of cooperation that can be finalised by the time the President comes to India.

The acting Secretary of State Strobe Talbott hosted a two-hour luncheon meeting for the Indian delegation where the two sides also talked about the upcoming WTO meeting, the developments in the Indiansub-continent and the programme of the new Indian government, US officials said.

Mishra is said to have expressed New Delhi's concerns over the military takeover in Pakistan and its ramifications. He also acknowledged the latest Pakistani offer of a dialogue on Kashmir but reiterated India's position that Islamabad should first stop cross-border terrorism to create an atmosphere for talks to take place.

The US side is believed to have reiterated several points it has made over the past few days: It is keen that democracy is restored as soon as possible in Pakistan; the Clinton Administration will not use the Presser Amendment waiver to reopen arms supply to Pakistan; and it would press Islamabad to address India's concerns over cross-border terrorism.

There are still no dates in the air for President Clinton's visit to the region but US officials suggest a window of anywhere from late January to mid-March, as Washington seeks to get a hang of the pace of developments in Pakistan.

For his politicalparleys, Mishra was accompanied by the Indian ambassador Naresh Chandra, a four year veteran in Washington, and his deputies T P Sreenivasan and Francis Vaz. Talbott drew in Assistant Secretary Rick Inderfurth and the State Departments non-proliferation guru Robert Einhorn among others.

From the kind of meetings slated for Mishra, it is evident that the two sides are seeking to go far beyond the security oriented dialogue the two sides have been having in recent times.

On Friday, Mishra was scheduled to meet a slew of trade and commerce officials, including Commerce Secretary William Daley and Acting Under Secretary for Economic Affairs Allen Larson. Mishra is accompanied by Commerce Secretary P P Prabhu and India's ambassador to the WTO, S Narayan.In the unspoken choreography the two sides have in mind, a gesture by each side is reciprocated by the other.

Thus, even as Washington moves to ease sanctions and prune the list of forbidden entities in India, New Delhi is rushing through what it describes asthe second generation of reforms, including far reaching steps like opening up its insurance sector.

There is also a suggestion at this time that India will soon announce the signing of the test ban treaty but will keep in abeyance the two steps that will seal it -- ratification, and depositing the instrument of ratification with the UN.

Although some experts argue that under the Indian system, merely signing it is tantamount to ratification, others say the Union Cabinet would be required to ratify it. In any case, it now appears that New Delhi will move one step closer to the treaty soon.