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Keir Starmer has asserted that the truce deal in Gaza "would not have occurred without President Trump's leadership," yet stopped short of supporting the US president for a Nobel Prize.

Ceasefire Deal Welcomed as a "Relief to the World"

The prime minister remarked that the first phase of the deal would be a "welcome news globally" and highlighted that the United Kingdom had played its own role behind the scenes with the US and negotiators.

Speaking on the last day of his business trip to the Indian subcontinent, Starmer stressed that the deal "needs to be put into action in full, without delay, 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 award, the Prime Minister suggested that time was required to determine if a durable peace could be achieved.

"The priority now is to press on and implement this ... my attention now is moving this from the stage it's at now ... and make a success of this, because that is important 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 sealed during his visit to the country – his maiden visit there – joined by 126 business leaders and arts figures. The trip marks the passing of the countries' trade pact.

• No 10 has unveiled a range of financial commitments, from fintech to university campuses, as well as the making of multiple Indian movies in the United Kingdom.
• On Thursday, Starmer finalized a defence deal worth £350 million for British-made missiles, manufactured in Northern Ireland, to be deployed by the Indian army.

"Our history together is profound, the personal ties between our citizens are truly special," he remarked as he departed Mumbai. "Expanding upon our historic trade deal, we are reinventing this partnership for our era."

Digital Identification System Studied

The Prime Minister has dedicated time in India studying the Indian digital ID system, including consulting principal architects who developed the widespread system utilized by over a billion individuals for benefits, transactions, and identification.

The prime minister suggested that the United Kingdom was interested in broadening the scope of digital identification beyond making it compulsory to prove rights to work. He proposed that the Britain would eventually look at linking it to banking and transaction networks – on a optional basis – as well as for official procedures such as mortgage and educational enrollments.

"It has been adopted on a voluntary basis [in India] in massive scale, partly because it ensures that you can access your own funds, conduct transactions so much more easily than is available with others," he explained.

"The speed with which it enables residents here to utilize facilities, especially banking options, is something that was recognized in our discussions recently, and in fact a financial technology discussion that we had today. So we're looking at those examples of how digital identification assists individuals with processes that sometimes take excessive time and are overly complex and simplifies them for them."

Popular Backing for Changes

The Prime Minister acknowledged that the government had to build public support for the initiatives to the UK citizens, which have plummeted in public approval since Starmer proposed them.

"I think now we need to go out and make that case the significant advantages ... And I think that the more people see the positive outcomes that accompany this ... as has happened in different nations, citizens say: 'That will make my life easier,' and therefore I want to get on with it," he stated.

Rights Issues and International Relations Discussed

Starmer confirmed he had raised 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 acknowledged that he and Modi talked about how India was persisting to buy oil from Russia, which is facing widespread western sanctions.

"For both Prime Minister Modi and me the focus on ending this conflict and the various steps will be implemented to that end," he said. "And that was a broad spectrum of discussion, but we did set out the steps that we are undertaking in regarding energy."

Starmer additionally said he had brought up the situation of the British Sikh activist the individual, from Dumbarton, who has been detained in an Indian jail for almost a decade without facing a complete legal process. It is frequently mentioned as one of the most egregious cases of unfair treatment among UK nationals still held abroad.

But, he did not suggest much progress had been made. "Indeed, we brought up the consular cases," he stated. "We consistently address them when we have the chance to do so. I must add that the foreign secretary is meeting the relatives in coming weeks, as well as raising it now."

Upcoming Initiatives

Starmer is widely expected to take a similar business-oriented visit to the People's Republic of China in the next 12 months as part of a mission to ease relations between the United Kingdom and China.

This bilateral connection is under the spotlight because of the dismissal of a Chinese spying case, said to have happened because the UK has been unwilling to provide new proof that China is deemed a threat.

The Prime Minister said the United Kingdom was eager to pursue other trading relationships but stated that a commercial agreement with the nation was not on the agenda. "It is not a priority, for a trade deal as such, but our position is to work together where we are able, challenge where we need to, and this has been the ongoing approach of the government in relation to China."