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Keir Starmer has asserted that the Gaza ceasefire agreement "could not have happened without President Trump's leadership," but avoided supporting the American leader for a Nobel Prize.

Ceasefire Deal Hailed as a "Relief to the World"

Starmer remarked that the first phase of the deal would be a "relief to the world" and noted that the UK had contributed significantly in private discussions with the US and negotiators.

Addressing the media on the last day of his trade visit to India, the British leader stressed that the deal "must now be implemented in full, without delay, and accompanied by the prompt removal of all restrictions on life-saving humanitarian aid to Gaza."

Nobel Prize Inquiry Answered

However, when asked if the Nobel committee should at this time grant Trump the coveted prize, the Prime Minister implied that time was required to determine if a longer lasting peace could be attained.

"What matters now is to move forward and execute this ... my focus now is moving this from the phase it's at now ... and make a success of this, because that is important to me above all," he stated at a press conference in Mumbai.

Business Deals Revealed During Trip to India

Starmer has hailed a series of agreements sealed during his visit to the country – his first time there – joined by over a hundred executives and arts figures. The trip marks the passing of the countries' free trade agreement.

• No 10 has announced a slew of investments, from financial technology to higher education facilities, as well as the production of multiple Indian movies in the UK.
• On the final day, Starmer signed a military agreement worth £350m for British-made missiles, produced in Northern Ireland, to be used by the Indian military.

"The shared history is deep, the personal ties between our citizens are truly special," Starmer said as he departed the city. "Building on our landmark agreement, we are remaking this alliance for our era."

Digital ID Initiative Studied

Starmer has spent time in Mumbai studying the national digital identification program, including meeting key figures who designed the comprehensive platform used by more than 1 billion people for social services, transactions, and identification.

The prime minister suggested that the United Kingdom was interested in expanding the scope of digital ID beyond making it compulsory to prove rights to work. He proposed that the UK would in time look at linking it to banking and transaction networks – on a voluntary basis – as well as for official procedures such as home loan and school applications.

"It has been adopted on a optional basis [in India] in massive scale, partly because it ensures that you can retrieve your own money, conduct transactions so much more easily than is available with alternative methods," he noted.

"The speed with which it allows citizens here to utilize facilities, especially banking options, is something that was acknowledged in our discussions yesterday, and in fact a financial technology discussion that we had as well. So we're examining those examples of how digital ID assists people with procedures that often take excessive time and are too cumbersome and simplifies them for them."

Public Support for Changes

The Prime Minister acknowledged that the administration had to make the case for the initiatives to the UK citizens, which have declined sharply in popularity since Starmer announced them.

"I think now we need to go out and make that case the huge benefits ... And I think that the greater number of individuals see the positive outcomes that come with this ... as has happened in other countries, people say: 'That will simplify my daily routine,' and therefore I want to get on with it," he affirmed.

Rights Issues and International Relations Addressed

The Prime Minister said he had brought up a number of difficult topics with the Indian leader regarding human rights and ties with Russia, though he seemed to have made minimal progress. He confirmed that he and Modi discussed how the country was continuing to buy oil from Russia, which is facing widespread western sanctions.

"For prime minister Modi and myself the focus on resolving this situation and the various steps will be taken to that purpose," he commented. "And that was a broad spectrum of dialogue, but we outlined the actions that we are taking in relation to energy."

The Prime Minister additionally mentioned he had brought up the case of the UK-based activist the individual, from Dumbarton, who has been detained in an Indian jail for nearly eight years without undergoing a full trial. It is often cited as one of the worst examples of injustice among Britons currently detained overseas.

But, Starmer did not suggest much advancement had been achieved. "Yes, 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 scheduled to meet the relatives in the near future, as well as discussing it today."

Upcoming Initiatives

The prime minister is widely expected to take a similar business-oriented visit to China in the next 12 months as part of a mission to ease relations between the UK and China.

That relationship is receiving attention because of the dismissal of a Chinese spying case, reportedly occurring because the UK has been reluctant to provide new proof that the country is deemed a security risk.

The Prime Minister clarified the UK was keen to explore additional commercial partnerships but emphasized that a trade deal with China was not currently planned. "That's not on our list, for a trade deal as such, but our position is to cooperate where we are able, confront where we must, and that's been the consistent policy of the administration in regarding China."