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The Prime Minister has asserted that the Gaza ceasefire agreement "could not have happened without President Trump's leadership," but stopped short of supporting the US president for a Nobel Prize.

Ceasefire Deal Hailed as a "Relief to the World"

Starmer remarked that the initial stage of the deal would be a "relief to the world" and highlighted that the United Kingdom had played its own role in private discussions with the United States and mediators.

Addressing the media on the final day of his trade visit to the Indian subcontinent, the British leader stressed that the deal "must now be implemented in full, without delay, and paired with the prompt removal of all limitations on critical humanitarian aid to Gaza."

Nobel Prize Inquiry Answered

However, when questioned if the Nobel committee should at this time award Trump the prestigious prize, the Prime Minister implied that time was required to know if a longer lasting peace could be achieved.

"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 told reporters at a media briefing in Mumbai.

Trade and Investment Revealed During India Visit

The Prime Minister has celebrated a series of agreements sealed during his tour to the country – his first time there – joined by over a hundred executives and arts figures. The visit marks the implementation of the two nations' trade pact.

• No 10 has unveiled a range of financial commitments, from financial technology to higher education facilities, as well as the production of three Bollywood films in the UK.
• On the final day, Starmer finalized a military agreement worth £350m for UK missiles, produced in the UK region, to be used by the Indian military.

"The shared history is profound, the human connections between our citizens are truly special," Starmer remarked as he departed the city. "Building on our landmark agreement, we are reinventing this partnership for our times."

Digital ID System Examined

Starmer has dedicated time in Mumbai analyzing the Indian digital ID system, including consulting key figures who designed the comprehensive platform utilized by over a billion individuals for social services, payments, and verification.

He suggested that the UK was interested in broadening the scope of digital ID beyond making it mandatory to prove rights to work. He indicated that the UK would eventually look at connecting it to banking and transaction networks – on a optional basis – as well as for administrative tasks 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 retrieve your own money, make payments so much more conveniently than is available with alternative methods," he explained.

"The speed with which it allows residents here to access services, particularly banking options, is something that was acknowledged in our talks yesterday, and actually a Fintech conversation that we had today. So we're examining those instances of how digital identification helps people with processes that sometimes take excessive time and are too cumbersome and simplifies them for them."

Popular Backing for Reforms

Starmer acknowledged that the government had to build public support for the initiatives to the UK citizens, which have declined sharply in public approval since he proposed them.

"I think 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 come with this ... as has happened in other countries, people say: 'That will make my life easier,' and therefore I want to get on with it," he stated.

Human Rights and Global Affairs Discussed

Starmer confirmed he had raised a range of challenging issues with the Indian premier regarding human rights and relations with the Russian Federation, though he seemed to have made little headway. He 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 resolving this situation and the multiple measures will be taken to that purpose," he commented. "This included a broad spectrum of discussion, but we outlined the steps that we are taking in regarding energy."

The Prime Minister also mentioned he had raised the case of the UK-based activist the individual, from Dumbarton, who has been held in an Indian prison for almost a decade without facing a full trial. It is often cited as one of the most egregious cases of unfair treatment among UK nationals still held overseas.

However, he did not indicate much progress had been made. "Yes, 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 top diplomat is meeting the families in coming weeks, as well as discussing it today."

Upcoming Initiatives

Starmer is largely anticipated to take a similar business-oriented visit to the People's Republic of China in the coming year as part of a mission to ease relations between the UK and the Asian nation.

That relationship is receiving attention because of the dismissal of a Chinese spying case, reportedly occurring because the British authorities has been unwilling to provide new proof that the country is deemed a threat.

Starmer said the UK was eager to pursue other trading relationships but emphasized that a trade deal with the nation 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, challenge where we must, and that's been the consistent policy of the government in relation to China."