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

Ceasefire Deal Hailed as a "Relief to the World"

The prime minister commented that the first phase of the agreement would be a "relief to the world" and noted that the United Kingdom had contributed significantly behind the scenes with the United States and mediators.

Speaking on the last day of his business trip to India, the British leader stressed that the agreement "needs to be put into action in full, without delay, and paired with the immediate lifting of all restrictions on life-saving humanitarian aid to Gaza."

Nobel Prize Question Addressed

But, when asked if the Nobel committee should at this time grant Donald Trump the coveted prize, Starmer implied that time was required to know if a durable peace could be achieved.

"The priority 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 matters to me above all," he told reporters at a media briefing in Mumbai.

Trade and Investment Announced During India Visit

The Prime Minister has celebrated a number of deals sealed during his visit to India – his first time there – accompanied by over a hundred executives and cultural leaders. The visit signifies the passing of the countries' free trade agreement.

• No 10 has unveiled a slew of investments, from fintech to higher education facilities, as well as the making of three Bollywood films in the UK.
• On the final day, the Prime Minister finalized a military agreement worth £350 million for British-made missiles, produced in the UK region, to be deployed by the Indian military.

"Our history together is profound, the personal ties between our citizens are truly special," he said as he departed Mumbai. "Building on our landmark agreement, we are reinventing this alliance for our times."

Digital Identification Initiative Studied

The Prime Minister has spent time in Mumbai analyzing the Indian digital ID system, including meeting principal architects who designed the comprehensive platform used by more than 1 billion people for social services, payments, and verification.

The prime minister hinted that the UK was interested in broadening the application of digital identification beyond making it mandatory to verify eligibility to work. He indicated that the UK would in time look at connecting it to banking and payments systems – on a voluntary basis – as well as for official procedures such as mortgage and educational enrollments.

"It's been taken up on a voluntary basis [in India] in huge numbers, partly because it ensures that you can retrieve your own money, conduct transactions so much more easily than is possible with alternative methods," he explained.

"The speed with which it enables citizens here to access services, especially financial services, is something that was recognized in our talks yesterday, and actually a Fintech conversation that we had today. So we're looking at those examples of how digital identification helps people with processes that often take excessive time and are overly complex and makes them easier for them."

Popular Backing for Reforms

The Prime Minister admitted that the government had to build public support for the initiatives to the UK citizens, which have declined sharply in public approval since Starmer announced them.

"In my view now we need to go out and advocate for the significant advantages ... And I think that the greater number of individuals see the positive outcomes that accompany this ... as has occurred in other countries, people say: 'That will make my life easier,' and therefore I want to proceed with it," he stated.

Human Rights and Global Affairs Addressed

Starmer said he had raised a range of challenging issues with the Indian premier regarding human rights and relations with the Russian Federation, though he appeared to have made minimal progress. He acknowledged that he and Prime Minister Modi discussed how the country was continuing to buy oil from Russia, which is facing widespread western sanctions.

"For both Prime Minister Modi and me the focus on ending this situation and the various steps will be implemented to that purpose," he commented. "And that was a wide range of dialogue, but we did set out the actions that we are taking in relation to energy."

Starmer also said he had brought up the case of the UK-based activist Jagtar Singh Johal, from Dumbarton, who has been detained in an Indian prison for nearly eight years without undergoing a complete legal process. It is often cited as one of the worst examples of unfair treatment among UK nationals currently detained abroad.

But, he did not indicate much advancement had been made. "Indeed, we did raise the diplomatic matters," he said. "We always raise them when we have the chance to do so. I must add that the foreign secretary is meeting the families in coming weeks, as well as discussing it today."

Upcoming Initiatives

Starmer is widely expected to take a similar business-oriented trip to China in the next 12 months as part of a mission to improve relations between the UK and China.

That relationship is receiving attention because of the dismissal of a Chinese spying case, said to have happened because the British authorities has been unwilling to provide fresh evidence that China is considered a security risk.

Starmer clarified the UK was keen to pursue additional commercial partnerships but emphasized that a trade deal with the nation 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 ongoing approach of the government in regarding China."