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The Prime Minister has declared that the Gaza ceasefire agreement "could not have happened without President Trump's leadership," yet stopped short of supporting the American leader for a Nobel peace prize.

Truce Agreement Welcomed as a "Welcome Development to the Globe"

The prime minister remarked that the first phase of the agreement would be a "relief to the world" and highlighted that the United Kingdom had played its own role behind the scenes with the United States and negotiators.

Speaking on the last day of his trade visit to the Indian subcontinent, Starmer stressed that the agreement "must now be implemented in full, without postponement, and paired with the immediate lifting of all limitations on critical humanitarian aid to Gaza."

Nobel Prize Inquiry Addressed

However, when questioned if the Nobel prize committee should now award Donald Trump the prestigious prize, Starmer suggested that more time was needed to determine if a durable peace could be achieved.

"The priority now is to move forward and execute this ... my attention now is transitioning this from the phase it's at now ... and make a success of this, because that matters to me above all," he told reporters at a media briefing in India's financial capital.

Business Deals Announced During India Visit

Starmer has hailed a number of deals finalized during his tour to the country – his first time there – accompanied by 126 business leaders and arts figures. The trip marks the implementation of the two nations' trade pact.

• The UK government has announced a slew of investments, from fintech to higher education facilities, as well as the production of three Bollywood films in the UK.
• On Thursday, Starmer signed a defence deal worth £350 million for UK missiles, produced in Northern Ireland, to be deployed by the Indian army.

"The shared history is profound, the personal ties between our people are exceptionally strong," Starmer remarked as he left Mumbai. "Expanding upon our landmark agreement, we are remaking this alliance for our times."

Digital ID Initiative Examined

The Prime Minister has spent time in Mumbai studying the national digital identification program, including consulting principal architects who designed the comprehensive platform utilized by over a billion individuals for benefits, transactions, and verification.

The prime minister hinted that the United Kingdom was considering broadening the scope of digital identification beyond making it compulsory to prove rights to work. He indicated that the Britain would eventually look at connecting it to financial and payments systems – on a voluntary basis – as well as for administrative tasks such as home loan and educational enrollments.

"It's been taken up on a voluntary basis [in India] in huge numbers, not least because it means that you can access your own money, conduct transactions so much more conveniently than is possible with alternative methods," he noted.

"The speed with which it enables citizens here to utilize facilities, especially financial services, is something that was acknowledged in our talks yesterday, and actually a Fintech conversation that we had as well. So we're examining those instances of how digital ID assists people with procedures that sometimes take too long and are overly complex and makes them easier for them."

Public Support for Reforms

The Prime Minister acknowledged that the government had to make the case for the initiatives to the British public, which have plummeted in popularity since Starmer proposed them.

"I think now we need to go out and make that case the significant advantages ... And I believe that the greater number of individuals see the benefits that come with this ... as has happened in other countries, people say: 'That will make my life easier,' and consequently I want to proceed with it," he affirmed.

Rights Issues and International Relations Addressed

The Prime Minister said he had brought up a range of challenging issues with the Indian leader regarding human rights and relations with the Russian Federation, though he seemed to have made minimal progress. Starmer confirmed that he and Prime Minister Modi talked about how the country was continuing to purchase oil from Russia, which is facing extensive international restrictions.

"For prime minister Modi and myself the focus on ending this situation and the multiple measures will be taken to that end," he commented. "And that was a wide range of discussion, but we did set out the steps that we are taking in regarding energy."

The Prime Minister also said he had raised the situation of the British Sikh activist the individual, from Scotland, who has been detained in an Indian jail for almost a decade without undergoing a complete legal process. It is often cited as one of the most egregious cases of unfair treatment among Britons still held overseas.

But, Starmer did not suggest much progress had been achieved. "Indeed, we brought up the consular cases," he said. "We always raise them when we have the opportunity to do so. I should say that the foreign secretary is meeting the relatives in coming weeks, as well as discussing it today."

Upcoming Initiatives

The prime minister is widely expected to take a comparable trade-focused visit to China in the next 12 months as part of a effort to improve diplomatic ties between the United Kingdom and China.

That relationship is receiving attention because of the dismissal of a espionage investigation, said to have happened because the British authorities has been reluctant to provide fresh evidence that the country is considered a threat.

The Prime Minister clarified the United Kingdom was eager to pursue other trading relationships but emphasized that a trade deal with the nation was not currently planned. "That's not on our list, for a bilateral pact as such, but our position is to cooperate where we are able, challenge where we need to, and this has been the consistent policy of the government in regarding China."