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The Prime Minister has asserted that the truce deal in Gaza "could not have happened without the leadership of Donald Trump," yet avoided endorsing the US president for a Nobel peace prize.

Ceasefire Deal Welcomed as a "Relief to the Globe"

Starmer commented that the initial stage of the agreement would be a "welcome news globally" and noted that the United Kingdom had played its own role in private discussions with the US and negotiators.

Speaking on the last day of his trade visit to India, the British leader stressed that the agreement "needs to be put into action in full, without delay, and accompanied by the prompt removal of all limitations on life-saving humanitarian aid to Gaza."

Nobel Prize Question Addressed

But, when questioned if the Nobel committee should now award Trump the coveted prize, Starmer suggested that time was needed to determine if a longer lasting peace could be attained.

"What matters now is to move forward and implement this ... my attention now is moving this from the stage it's at now ... and ensure the success of this, because that matters to me above all," he told reporters at a press conference in India's financial capital.

Business Deals Revealed During India Visit

The Prime Minister has hailed a number of deals finalized during his visit to the country – his first time there – accompanied by 126 business leaders and arts figures. The visit marks the implementation of the two nations' free trade agreement.

• No 10 has unveiled a range of financial commitments, from fintech to university campuses, as well as the production of multiple Indian movies in the United Kingdom.
• On Thursday, Starmer signed a military agreement worth £350 million for British-made missiles, produced in the UK region, to be used by the Indian army.

"The shared history is deep, the human connections between our people are exceptionally strong," Starmer remarked as he departed the city. "Building on our landmark agreement, we are reinventing this partnership for our era."

Digital ID System Studied

The Prime Minister has dedicated time in India analyzing the national digital identification program, including consulting principal architects who developed the comprehensive platform used by more than 1 billion people for social services, transactions, and verification.

He hinted that the United Kingdom was interested in expanding the application of digital ID 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 official procedures such as mortgage and school applications.

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

"The efficiency with which it enables residents here to utilize facilities, especially financial services, is something that was acknowledged in our talks recently, and actually a financial technology conversation that we had as well. So we're looking at those examples of how digital ID helps individuals with procedures that often take too long and are too cumbersome and simplifies them for them."

Public Support for Changes

The Prime Minister admitted that the administration had to make the case for the reforms to the UK citizens, which have declined sharply in public approval since he announced them.

"I think now we need to go out and advocate for the significant advantages ... And I think that the more people see the benefits that accompany this ... as has occurred in other countries, people say: 'That will simplify my daily routine,' and therefore I want to proceed with it," he affirmed.

Human Rights and International Relations Addressed

The Prime Minister said he had raised a range of challenging issues with the Indian leader regarding civil liberties and relations with Russia, though he seemed to have made little headway. He acknowledged that he and Prime Minister Modi talked about how the country was persisting to buy Russian oil, which is facing widespread western sanctions.

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

Starmer also mentioned he had brought up the situation of the British Sikh activist the individual, from Scotland, who has been detained in an Indian prison for almost a decade without undergoing a full trial. It is often cited as one of the worst examples of injustice among Britons still held abroad.

But, Starmer did not suggest much advancement had been made. "Yes, we did raise the consular cases," he said. "We always raise them when we have the chance to do so. I must add that the top diplomat is scheduled to meet the families in the near future, as well as raising it today."

Upcoming Initiatives

Starmer is widely expected to take a similar trade-focused visit to the People's Republic of China in the coming year as part of a effort to improve relations between the United Kingdom and the Asian nation.

That relationship is under the spotlight 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 the country is deemed a security risk.

The Prime Minister said the UK was eager to pursue additional commercial partnerships but emphasized that a trade deal with China was not on the agenda. "That's not on our list, for a trade deal as such, but our position is to work together where we can, confront where we must, and that's been the consistent policy of the government in regarding China."