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The Prime Minister has asserted that the truce deal in Gaza "could not have happened without President Trump's leadership," yet avoided endorsing the US president for a Nobel Prize.

Truce Agreement Welcomed as a "Relief to the World"

Starmer commented that the first phase of the deal would be a "relief to the world" and noted that the United Kingdom had contributed significantly behind the scenes with the US and negotiators.

Speaking on the final day of his business trip to India, the British leader stressed that the agreement "must now be implemented in full, without postponement, and accompanied by the immediate lifting of all limitations on critical humanitarian aid to Gaza."

Peace Prize Inquiry Addressed

However, when questioned if the Nobel committee should at this time grant Donald Trump the coveted award, Starmer suggested that more time was required to know if a longer lasting peace could be achieved.

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

Business Deals Announced During Trip to India

The Prime Minister has celebrated a series of agreements finalized during his visit to the country – his maiden visit there – accompanied by 126 business leaders and arts figures. The trip marks the passing 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 multiple Indian movies in the UK.
• On the final day, Starmer finalized a defence deal worth £350m for British-made 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 departed the city. "Expanding upon our historic trade deal, we are reinventing this partnership for our times."

Digital ID System Examined

The Prime Minister has dedicated time in India analyzing the national digital identification program, including consulting key figures who designed the widespread system used by over a billion individuals for benefits, payments, and verification.

He suggested that the UK was considering expanding the scope of digital ID beyond making it compulsory to verify eligibility to work. He proposed that the Britain would in time look at connecting it to financial and transaction networks – on a voluntary basis – as well as for administrative tasks such as home loan and educational enrollments.

"It's been taken up 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 easily than is available with others," he explained.

"The speed with which it enables citizens here to utilize facilities, particularly financial services, is something that was acknowledged in our discussions yesterday, and in fact a financial technology discussion that we had as well. So we're looking at those instances of how digital ID helps people with processes that sometimes take too long and are too cumbersome and simplifies them for them."

Popular Backing for Reforms

Starmer admitted that the government had to build public support for the reforms to the UK citizens, which have declined sharply in popularity since Starmer announced them.

"In my view now we need to go out and make that case the significant advantages ... And I believe that the more people see the positive outcomes that accompany this ... as has happened in other countries, citizens say: 'That will simplify my daily routine,' and therefore I want to get on with it," he affirmed.

Rights Issues and International Relations Addressed

Starmer said he had brought up a range of challenging issues with the Indian leader regarding civil liberties and ties with the Russian Federation, though he seemed to have made little headway. He confirmed that he and Prime Minister Modi discussed how the country was persisting to buy 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 said. "This included a wide range of discussion, but we outlined the actions that we are taking in relation to energy."

The Prime Minister also said he had raised the case 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 full trial. It is frequently mentioned as one of the worst examples of unfair treatment among Britons currently detained abroad.

But, he did not suggest much advancement had been made. "Indeed, we brought up 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 discussing it today."

Future Plans

The prime minister is widely expected to take a comparable business-oriented visit to the People's Republic of China in the coming year as part of a effort to improve diplomatic ties between the UK and the Asian nation.

This bilateral connection is receiving attention because of the collapse of a espionage investigation, said to have happened because the British authorities has been unwilling to provide fresh evidence that China is deemed a security risk.

Starmer clarified the UK was keen to explore additional commercial partnerships but stated that a commercial agreement with the nation was not currently planned. "It is not a priority, for a trade deal as such, but our position is to work together where we can, challenge where we need to, and this has been the consistent policy of the administration in regarding China."