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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 stopped short of supporting the American leader for a Nobel peace prize.

Truce Agreement Welcomed as a "Welcome Development to the World"

Starmer commented that the initial stage of the agreement would be a "relief to the world" and noted that the UK had played its own role in private discussions with the US and negotiators.

Addressing the media on the last day of his business trip to the Indian subcontinent, Starmer stressed that the deal "must now be implemented in full, without delay, and accompanied by the immediate lifting of all restrictions on critical humanitarian aid to Gaza."

Peace Prize Inquiry Addressed

But, when questioned if the Nobel committee should at this time award Donald Trump the coveted award, Starmer implied that more time was required to know if a durable peace could be achieved.

"What matters now is to move forward and execute this ... my attention now is transitioning this from the phase it's at now ... and ensure the success of this, because that is important to me above all," he told reporters at a media briefing in Mumbai.

Business Deals Revealed During Trip to India

Starmer has hailed a series of agreements sealed during his tour to India – his first time there – joined by 126 business leaders and arts figures. The trip marks the implementation of the countries' free trade agreement.

• The UK government has unveiled a range of financial commitments, from financial technology to higher education facilities, as well as the making of three Bollywood films in the UK.
• On the final day, the Prime Minister finalized a defence deal worth £350m for UK missiles, produced in Northern Ireland, to be used by the Indian military.

"The shared history is profound, the human connections between our people are exceptionally strong," he remarked as he departed the city. "Expanding upon our landmark agreement, we are remaking this partnership for our times."

Digital ID System Studied

The Prime Minister has spent time in Mumbai analyzing the national digital identification program, including consulting key figures who developed the widespread system used by more than 1 billion people for social services, payments, and verification.

He suggested that the United Kingdom was interested in expanding 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 financial and payments systems – on a voluntary basis – as well as for official procedures such as home loan and educational enrollments.

"It's been taken up on a optional basis [in India] in massive scale, partly because it ensures that you can access your own money, make payments so much more easily than is available with others," he explained.

"The efficiency with which it enables citizens here to utilize facilities, particularly financial services, is something that was acknowledged in our discussions yesterday, and actually a Fintech conversation that we had today. So we're looking at those instances of how digital ID helps people with procedures that sometimes take excessive time and are overly complex 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 British public, which have plummeted in popularity since he announced them.

"In my view now we need to go out and make that case the huge benefits ... 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 simplify my daily routine,' and therefore I want to proceed with it," he stated.

Rights Issues and Global Affairs Addressed

The Prime Minister said he had raised a range of challenging issues with the Indian leader regarding human rights and relations with Russia, though he seemed to have made minimal progress. Starmer confirmed that he and Prime Minister Modi talked about how the country was continuing to purchase Russian oil, which is facing extensive international restrictions.

"For prime minister Modi and myself the priority on resolving this situation and the various steps will be taken to that end," he said. "This included a wide range of discussion, but we did set out the actions that we are undertaking in regarding energy."

Starmer also said he had raised the situation of the UK-based activist Jagtar Singh Johal, from Dumbarton, who has been detained in an Indian prison for almost a decade without undergoing a complete legal process. It is frequently mentioned as one of the most egregious cases of unfair treatment among UK nationals still held abroad.

However, Starmer did not indicate much progress had been achieved. "Indeed, we did raise the diplomatic matters," he stated. "We always raise them when we have the chance to do so. I should say that the foreign secretary is scheduled to meet the families in the near future, as well as raising it today."

Future Plans

Starmer is widely expected to take a similar business-oriented visit to China in the next 12 months as part of a effort to ease relations between the United Kingdom and the Asian nation.

This bilateral connection is receiving attention because of the dismissal of a Chinese spying case, said to have happened because the British authorities has been reluctant to provide fresh evidence that China is considered a threat.

Starmer 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 stance is to cooperate where we are able, challenge where we need to, and that's been the ongoing approach of the government in relation to China."