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The Prime Minister has stated that the Gaza ceasefire agreement "could not have happened without the leadership of Donald Trump," but avoided endorsing the US president for a Nobel Prize.

Ceasefire Deal Welcomed as a "Welcome Development to the Globe"

Starmer remarked that the first phase of the agreement would be a "welcome news globally" and highlighted that the United Kingdom had contributed significantly behind the scenes with the United States and negotiators.

Addressing the media on the last day of his business trip to the Indian subcontinent, the British leader emphasized that the deal "needs to be put into action in full, without postponement, and accompanied by the prompt removal of all restrictions on critical humanitarian aid to Gaza."

Peace Prize Inquiry Addressed

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

"The priority now is to move forward and execute this ... my attention now is moving this from the stage it's at now ... and make a success of this, because that matters to me above all," he stated at a press conference in India's financial capital.

Trade and Investment Revealed During India Visit

The Prime Minister has hailed a series of agreements finalized during his visit to the country – his maiden visit there – accompanied by over a hundred executives and arts figures. The visit signifies the implementation of the countries' trade pact.

• No 10 has announced a range of financial commitments, from fintech to higher education facilities, as well as the production of multiple Indian movies in the UK.
• On Thursday, the Prime Minister signed a military agreement worth £350m for UK missiles, manufactured in the UK region, to be used by the Indian military.

"Our history together is deep, the human connections between our people are truly special," he remarked as he departed the city. "Expanding upon our landmark agreement, we are reinventing this alliance for our era."

Digital Identification Initiative Studied

The Prime Minister has spent time in India analyzing the Indian digital ID system, including meeting key figures who developed the widespread system utilized by more than 1 billion people for social services, payments, and verification.

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

"It's been taken up on a voluntary basis [in India] in huge numbers, not least because it ensures that you can retrieve your own money, conduct transactions so much more conveniently than is possible with alternative methods," he noted.

"The speed with which it enables citizens here to access services, particularly banking options, is something that was recognized in our talks yesterday, and actually a Fintech discussion that we had as well. So we're examining those instances of how digital identification helps people with procedures that sometimes take excessive time and are overly complex and simplifies them for them."

Popular Backing for Reforms

Starmer admitted that the government had to make the case for the reforms to the British public, which have declined sharply in public approval since Starmer announced them.

"In my view now we need to go out and make that case the significant advantages ... And I believe 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 consequently I want to proceed with it," he affirmed.

Human Rights and Global Affairs Discussed

The Prime Minister said he had brought up a number of difficult topics with the Indian premier regarding civil liberties and relations with Russia, though he appeared to have made minimal progress. Starmer confirmed that he and Prime Minister Modi discussed how the country was persisting to purchase Russian oil, which is subject to extensive international restrictions.

"For both Prime Minister Modi and me the priority on resolving this situation and the multiple measures will be implemented to that purpose," he said. "And that was a broad spectrum of discussion, but we did set out the steps that we are taking in regarding energy."

The Prime Minister also mentioned he had raised the situation of the British Sikh activist Jagtar Singh Johal, from Scotland, who has been held in an Indian prison for almost a decade without facing a full trial. It is frequently mentioned as one of the worst examples of unfair treatment among Britons currently detained abroad.

But, Starmer did not suggest 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 top diplomat is meeting the families in the near future, as well as discussing it now."

Upcoming Initiatives

Starmer is widely expected to take a comparable trade-focused trip 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.

That relationship is under the spotlight because of the dismissal of a espionage investigation, said to have happened because the UK has been reluctant to provide fresh evidence that China is deemed a security risk.

The Prime Minister clarified the United Kingdom was keen to explore additional commercial partnerships but emphasized that a commercial agreement with China was not currently planned. "It is not a priority, for a bilateral pact as such, but our position is to cooperate where we are able, challenge where we must, and that's been the ongoing approach of the government in regarding China."