WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State Colin Powell on Monday sought to energize Cuba's Project Varela opposition campaign by meeting one of its top supporters, Cuban dissident Oswaldo Paya.

Paya heads the project, a petition signed by more than 11,000 Cubans seeking nonviolent reforms in the communist state to allow freedom of expression and assembly, the right to own a business and amnesty for political prisoners.

The government of President Fidel Castro has ignored the petition.

The State Department rolled out the red carpet for Paya, arranging a media picture-taking session during which he and Powell smiled and shook hands in an ornate reception room before starting a closed-door 20-minute meeting.

U.S. officials made clear the meeting was designed to express Washington's support for Paya's efforts to bring about democratic change in the one-party state, which has been subject to a U.S. economic embargo for some four decades.

"One of the most important aspects of the meeting was to hear directly from courageous people who are involved in trying to bring about peaceful democratic change in Cuba and to offer our support and encouragement," said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher.

'RAPID, PEACEFUL TRANSITION'

"The secretary expressed his admiration for the efforts that Mr. Paya is making," the spokesman added. "His petition drive provides a way for the Cuban people to express their desire for rapid, peaceful transition to democracy."

Paya used the meeting to make the case for Washington to end its embargo but did not raise the issue of U.S. treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, the U.S. military base on the island where Washington has detained hundreds of suspected Taliban and al Qaeda members.

Paya has previously said it was "a matter of shame" for Cuba that they were being held there.

"We think that the embargo is such a polarizing issue that it has pushed aside the deeper issue that is the need for democratic changes in Cuba," Paya told reporters after meeting Powell. "We do not support any kind of foreign pressure from abroad as a factor for change in Cuba."

President Bush, backed by Cuban American exiles in the key electoral state of Florida, has vowed to maintain the embargo until political reforms are allowed.

Paya, a medical-equipment engineer, received the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought last month.

Cuba allowed him to travel to Europe to receive the prize and he has made the most of the trip, visiting Spain, France and Puerto Rico.