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Keir Starmer has asserted that the truce deal in Gaza "would not have occurred without President Trump's leadership," but stopped short of endorsing the American leader for a Nobel peace prize.

Ceasefire Deal Welcomed as a "Relief to the World"

The prime minister remarked that the initial stage of the agreement would be a "relief to the world" and noted that the UK had contributed significantly behind the scenes with the United States and negotiators.

Speaking on the final day of his business trip to the Indian subcontinent, Starmer emphasized that the agreement "needs to be put into action in full, without postponement, and accompanied by the prompt removal of all restrictions on life-saving humanitarian aid to Gaza."

Peace Prize Inquiry Answered

But, when asked if the Nobel prize committee should now award Trump the coveted prize, the Prime Minister suggested that more time was required to determine if a longer lasting peace could be attained.

"The priority now is to move forward and implement 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 press conference in India's financial capital.

Trade and Investment Revealed During India Visit

The Prime Minister has hailed a number of deals finalized during his visit to India – his maiden visit there – joined by over a hundred executives and arts figures. The visit signifies the passing of the two nations' free trade agreement.

• No 10 has announced a range of financial commitments, from fintech to higher education facilities, as well as the making of multiple Indian movies in the United Kingdom.
• On Thursday, Starmer signed a military agreement worth £350 million for UK missiles, manufactured in Northern Ireland, to be deployed by the Indian army.

"The shared history is profound, the human connections between our citizens are truly special," Starmer said as he departed Mumbai. "Building on our landmark agreement, we are reinventing this alliance for our era."

Digital Identification System Studied

The Prime Minister has dedicated time in India studying the national digital identification program, including consulting principal architects who developed the widespread system utilized by more than 1 billion people for benefits, payments, and verification.

The prime minister suggested that the United Kingdom was considering broadening the scope of digital identification beyond making it compulsory to prove rights to work. He proposed that the UK would in time look at connecting it to banking and payments systems – on a optional basis – as well as for administrative tasks such as home loan and school applications.

"It has been adopted on a voluntary basis [in India] in massive scale, not least because it ensures that you can retrieve your own money, make payments so much more easily than is possible with alternative methods," he explained.

"The speed with which it enables residents here to utilize facilities, especially banking options, is something that was acknowledged in our talks yesterday, and actually a Fintech discussion that we had as well. So we're looking at those examples of how digital identification assists individuals with processes that sometimes take excessive time and are too cumbersome and simplifies them for them."

Public Support for Changes

The Prime Minister admitted that the government had to make the case for the reforms to the UK citizens, which have plummeted in popularity since he proposed them.

"In my view now we need to go out and advocate for the huge benefits ... And I believe that the more people see the positive outcomes that accompany this ... as has happened in other countries, people say: 'That will simplify my daily routine,' and consequently I want to get on with it," he stated.

Rights Issues and International Relations Addressed

Starmer confirmed he had brought up a number of difficult topics with the Indian premier regarding civil liberties and relations with the Russian Federation, though he seemed to have made minimal progress. He acknowledged that he and Modi discussed how India was continuing to purchase Russian oil, which is subject to extensive international restrictions.

"For both Prime Minister Modi and me the priority on ending this situation and the multiple measures will be implemented to that purpose," he commented. "This included a broad spectrum of dialogue, but we did set out the steps that we are taking in relation to energy."

The Prime Minister also mentioned he had raised the case of the UK-based activist the individual, from Scotland, who has been detained in an Indian prison for nearly eight years without facing a complete legal process. It is often cited as one of the most egregious cases of unfair treatment among UK nationals currently detained abroad.

But, Starmer did not indicate much advancement had been made. "Indeed, we did raise the consular cases," he stated. "We always raise them when we have the chance to do so. I must add that the foreign secretary is scheduled to meet the relatives in coming weeks, as well as discussing it today."

Future Plans

The prime minister is largely anticipated to take a similar business-oriented visit to China in the coming year as part of a effort to ease relations between the UK and China.

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

Starmer said the UK was keen to explore additional commercial partnerships but emphasized that a commercial agreement with China was not currently planned. "That's not on our list, for a trade deal as such, but our stance is to work together where we can, confront where we need to, and that's been the ongoing approach of the government in relation to China."