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Keir Starmer has stated that the Gaza ceasefire agreement "would not have occurred without the leadership of Donald Trump," but avoided endorsing the American leader for a Nobel Prize.

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

Starmer commented that the initial stage of the agreement would be a "welcome news globally" and noted that the United Kingdom had played its own role behind the scenes with the United States and mediators.

Speaking on the last day of his trade visit to India, the British leader emphasized that the agreement "needs to be put into action in full, without postponement, and paired with the prompt removal of all restrictions on critical humanitarian aid to Gaza."

Nobel Prize Inquiry Addressed

However, when asked if the Nobel prize committee should at this time grant Trump the coveted award, Starmer suggested that more time was required to know if a longer lasting 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 is important to me more than anything else," he told reporters at a press conference in India's financial capital.

Trade and Investment Revealed During India Visit

Starmer has hailed a series of agreements finalized during his tour to the country – his first time there – accompanied by 126 business leaders and arts figures. The visit signifies the passing of the countries' free trade agreement.

• No 10 has unveiled a range of financial commitments, from financial technology to university campuses, as well as the making of multiple Indian movies in the UK.
• On Thursday, Starmer signed a military agreement worth £350 million 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 truly special," he said as he left Mumbai. "Building on our landmark agreement, we are reinventing this partnership for our times."

Digital ID System Studied

The Prime Minister has spent time in India studying the Indian digital ID system, including consulting principal architects who designed the widespread system utilized by more than 1 billion people for benefits, payments, and identification.

The prime minister hinted that the UK was considering broadening the application of digital ID beyond making it compulsory to verify eligibility to work. He proposed that the Britain would eventually look at linking it to banking and transaction networks – on a voluntary 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 means 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 allows citizens here to access services, particularly financial services, is something that was recognized in our talks yesterday, and in fact a financial technology discussion that we had as well. So we're examining those instances of how digital identification assists individuals with procedures that often take too long and are overly complex and simplifies them for them."

Public Support for Changes

Starmer acknowledged that the administration had to build public support for the initiatives to the British public, 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 think that the more people see the positive outcomes that accompany this ... as has happened in other countries, people say: 'That will make my life easier,' and consequently I want to proceed with it," he affirmed.

Human Rights and International Relations Addressed

Starmer said he had brought up a range of challenging issues with the Indian premier regarding civil liberties and ties with Russia, though he seemed to have made minimal progress. He acknowledged that he and Prime Minister Modi discussed how India was persisting to purchase oil from Russia, which is facing extensive international restrictions.

"For prime minister Modi and myself the priority on ending this situation and the various steps will be implemented to that purpose," he commented. "And that was a wide range of discussion, but we outlined the actions that we are undertaking in relation to energy."

The Prime Minister additionally mentioned he had brought up the situation of the British Sikh activist Jagtar Singh Johal, from Scotland, who has been detained 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 UK nationals still held overseas.

But, he did not suggest much progress had been made. "Yes, we did raise the diplomatic matters," he said. "We always raise them when we have the opportunity to do so. I should say that the foreign secretary is meeting the families in the near future, as well as discussing it now."

Future Plans

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

That relationship is receiving attention because of the collapse of a Chinese spying case, reportedly occurring because the UK has been unwilling to provide new proof that the country is considered a threat.

The Prime Minister clarified the United Kingdom was keen 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, confront where we need to, and this has been the ongoing approach of the government in regarding China."