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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 US president for a Nobel peace prize.

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

Starmer remarked that the first phase of the deal would be a "welcome news globally" and noted that the UK had contributed significantly behind the scenes with the United States and mediators.

Speaking on the final day of his business trip to the Indian subcontinent, Starmer stressed that the agreement "needs to be put into action in full, without postponement, and accompanied by the prompt removal of all restrictions on life-saving humanitarian aid to Gaza."

Peace Prize Question Addressed

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

"What matters now is to press on and execute this ... my attention now is moving this from the phase it's at now ... and make a success of this, because that matters to me above all," he told reporters at a press conference in Mumbai.

Business Deals Revealed During Trip to India

The Prime Minister has hailed a number of deals sealed during his visit to India – his maiden visit there – joined by over a hundred executives and arts figures. The trip marks the implementation of the countries' trade pact.

• No 10 has unveiled a slew of investments, 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, manufactured in the UK region, to be deployed by the Indian military.

"The shared history is profound, the human connections between our people are exceptionally strong," he said as he departed the city. "Expanding upon our historic trade deal, we are remaking this alliance for our times."

Digital ID Initiative Examined

The Prime Minister has spent time in India analyzing the national digital identification program, including consulting principal architects who designed the comprehensive platform utilized by more than 1 billion people for benefits, transactions, and verification.

The prime minister hinted that the United Kingdom was considering expanding the scope of digital ID beyond making it mandatory to prove rights to work. He proposed that the UK would eventually look at connecting it to banking and payments systems – on a voluntary basis – as well as for administrative tasks such as home loan and educational enrollments.

"It has been adopted on a voluntary basis [in India] in massive scale, not least because it ensures that you can access your own funds, make payments so much more conveniently than is available with alternative methods," he noted.

"The speed with which it allows citizens here to utilize facilities, particularly financial services, is something that was recognized in our talks recently, and in fact a Fintech discussion that we had today. So we're looking at those instances of how digital identification assists individuals with processes that often take excessive time and are too cumbersome and simplifies them for them."

Popular Backing for Changes

Starmer acknowledged that the government had to build public support for the reforms to the British public, which have plummeted in public approval since Starmer announced them.

"In my view now we need to go out and make that case the huge benefits ... And I think that the more people see the positive outcomes that come with this ... as has occurred in other countries, citizens say: 'That will make my life easier,' and consequently I want to get on with it," he affirmed.

Rights Issues and Global Affairs Addressed

The Prime Minister said he had raised a number of difficult topics with the Indian premier regarding civil liberties and ties with the Russian Federation, though he seemed to have made little headway. He acknowledged that he and Prime Minister Modi talked about how India was persisting to purchase oil from Russia, which is subject to extensive international restrictions.

"For prime minister Modi and myself the focus on resolving this situation and the various steps will be implemented to that purpose," he said. "And that was a wide range of dialogue, but we did set out the steps that we are undertaking in relation to energy."

Starmer additionally said he had brought up the situation of the British Sikh activist Jagtar Singh Johal, from Scotland, who has been detained in an Indian jail for almost a decade without facing a full trial. It is frequently mentioned as one of the worst examples of injustice among Britons currently detained overseas.

However, Starmer did not indicate much advancement had been made. "Yes, we did raise the diplomatic matters," he stated. "We consistently address them when we have the opportunity to do so. I must add that the foreign secretary is scheduled to meet the families in the near future, as well as discussing it today."

Future Plans

Starmer is largely anticipated to take a comparable business-oriented visit to China in the coming year as part of a mission to improve diplomatic ties 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 new proof that the country is considered a security risk.

Starmer said the United Kingdom was keen to explore additional commercial partnerships but emphasized that a commercial agreement with the nation was not currently planned. "That's not on our list, for a trade deal as such, but our stance is to work together where we can, confront where we must, and this has been the ongoing approach of the government in relation to China."