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The Prime Minister has stated that the truce deal in Gaza "could not have happened without President Trump's leadership," yet stopped short of supporting the US president for a Nobel Prize.

Ceasefire Deal Welcomed as a "Relief to the Globe"

Starmer remarked that the first phase 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 trade visit to India, Starmer emphasized that the deal "must now be implemented in full, without postponement, and paired with the prompt removal of all limitations on life-saving humanitarian aid to Gaza."

Nobel Prize Inquiry Answered

But, when asked if the Nobel committee should at this time grant Trump the coveted award, the Prime Minister suggested that more time was required to know if a durable peace could be attained.

"What matters now is to press on and execute this ... my focus now is moving this from the stage it's at now ... and make a success of this, because that matters to me more than anything else," he stated at a press conference in India's financial capital.

Trade and Investment Announced During Trip to India

The Prime Minister has celebrated a number of deals sealed during his tour to India – his maiden visit there – accompanied by over a hundred executives and arts figures. The trip marks the passing of the countries' free trade agreement.

• No 10 has announced a range of financial commitments, from financial technology to university campuses, as well as the production 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 deployed by the Indian army.

"The shared history is profound, the personal ties between our people are truly special," he remarked as he left Mumbai. "Building on our landmark agreement, we are remaking this alliance for our times."

Digital Identification Initiative Examined

The Prime Minister has spent time in Mumbai studying the Indian digital ID system, including consulting key figures who designed the widespread system used by over a billion individuals for social services, transactions, and identification.

He hinted that the UK was considering expanding the application of digital ID beyond making it compulsory to verify eligibility to work. He indicated that the Britain would eventually 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's been taken up on a optional basis [in India] in huge numbers, not least because it ensures that you can retrieve your own money, conduct transactions so much more easily than is possible with alternative methods," he noted.

"The speed with which it allows residents here to utilize facilities, especially financial services, is something that was recognized in our discussions yesterday, and actually a Fintech conversation that we had today. So we're looking at those examples of how digital identification helps individuals with procedures that often take excessive time and are overly complex and simplifies them for them."

Public Support for Reforms

Starmer acknowledged that the government had to make the case for the initiatives 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 huge benefits ... And I think that the more people see the benefits that accompany this ... as has happened in different nations, citizens say: 'That will simplify my daily routine,' and consequently I want to proceed with it," he stated.

Human Rights and Global Affairs Addressed

The Prime Minister said he had raised a range of challenging issues with the Indian leader regarding civil liberties and ties with the Russian Federation, though he seemed to have made minimal progress. Starmer confirmed that he and Prime Minister Modi discussed how India was continuing to purchase oil from Russia, which is subject to widespread western sanctions.

"For prime minister Modi and myself the priority on ending this situation and the multiple measures will be implemented to that end," he said. "And that was a wide range of dialogue, but we did set out the actions that we are undertaking in relation to energy."

The Prime Minister additionally said he had brought up the case of the UK-based activist Jagtar Singh Johal, from Dumbarton, who has been held in an Indian prison for nearly eight years without undergoing a complete legal process. It is frequently mentioned as one of the worst examples of unfair treatment among UK nationals currently detained overseas.

But, he did not suggest much advancement had been achieved. "Yes, we brought up the consular cases," he said. "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 coming weeks, as well as raising it now."

Upcoming Initiatives

Starmer is largely anticipated to take a comparable trade-focused trip to the People's Republic of China in the next 12 months as part of a effort to ease diplomatic ties between the United Kingdom and China.

That relationship is receiving attention because of the collapse of a Chinese spying case, said to have happened because the UK has been reluctant to provide fresh evidence that the country is considered a security risk.

The Prime Minister said the UK was eager to pursue additional commercial partnerships but stated that a commercial agreement with China was not on the agenda. "It is not a priority, for a bilateral pact as such, but our stance is to work together where we are able, confront where we must, and that's been the ongoing approach of the government in regarding China."