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Keir Starmer has stated that the truce deal in Gaza "could not have happened without President Trump's leadership," yet stopped short of endorsing the US president for a Nobel peace prize.

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

The prime minister remarked that the first phase of the agreement would be a "relief to the world" and highlighted that the UK had played its own role in private discussions with the US and negotiators.

Addressing the media on the final day of his business trip to India, Starmer emphasized that the deal "must now be implemented in full, without postponement, and accompanied by the prompt removal of all restrictions on critical humanitarian aid to Gaza."

Nobel Prize Question Addressed

But, when asked if the Nobel prize committee should at this time award Trump the prestigious prize, Starmer suggested that more time was required to determine if a durable peace could be achieved.

"The priority now is to press on and implement this ... my focus now is moving this from the stage it's at now ... and ensure the success of this, because that matters to me above all," he told reporters at a media briefing in Mumbai.

Business Deals Revealed During India Visit

The Prime Minister has hailed a series of agreements sealed during his tour to India – his maiden visit there – accompanied by over a hundred executives and cultural leaders. The visit marks the implementation of the countries' trade pact.

• No 10 has unveiled a slew of investments, from fintech to higher education facilities, as well as the production of multiple Indian movies in the United Kingdom.
• On Thursday, Starmer signed a defence deal worth £350m for British-made missiles, produced in the UK region, to be used by the Indian military.

"The shared history is deep, the human connections between our people are truly special," Starmer said as he left the city. "Building on our historic trade deal, we are reinventing this alliance for our era."

Digital Identification System Examined

The Prime Minister has spent time in India analyzing the national digital identification program, including consulting principal architects who developed the widespread system utilized by over a billion individuals for benefits, payments, and identification.

He suggested that the UK was considering expanding the scope of digital identification beyond making it compulsory to prove rights to work. He indicated 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 huge numbers, 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 speed with which it allows residents here to access services, particularly financial services, is something that was acknowledged in our discussions recently, and in fact a Fintech discussion that we had as well. So we're examining those instances of how digital ID helps people with procedures that often 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 build public support for the reforms to the UK citizens, which have plummeted in public approval since he proposed them.

"In my view now we need to go out and make that case the significant advantages ... And I think that the more people see the benefits that come with this ... as has occurred in other countries, citizens say: 'That will simplify my daily routine,' and consequently I want to get on with it," he stated.

Rights Issues and Global Affairs Addressed

The Prime Minister said he had brought up a range of challenging issues with the Indian leader regarding civil liberties and ties with Russia, though he appeared to have made little headway. Starmer acknowledged that he and Modi discussed how India was continuing to purchase Russian oil, which is facing widespread western sanctions.

"For prime minister Modi and myself the priority on ending this situation and the various steps will be taken to that purpose," he commented. "And that was a broad spectrum of dialogue, but we outlined the actions that we are undertaking in regarding energy."

Starmer also mentioned he had raised the case of the UK-based activist the individual, from Dumbarton, who has been detained in an Indian jail for nearly eight years without undergoing a full trial. It is frequently mentioned as one of the worst examples of injustice among Britons currently detained overseas.

However, 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 should say that the top diplomat is meeting the relatives in coming weeks, as well as raising it today."

Future Plans

The prime minister is largely anticipated to take a comparable business-oriented trip to the People's Republic of China in the next 12 months as part of a effort to improve relations between the United Kingdom and China.

This bilateral connection is receiving attention because of the collapse of a espionage investigation, reportedly occurring because the UK has been reluctant to provide fresh evidence that the country is considered a security risk.

Starmer clarified the UK was keen to explore other trading relationships but emphasized that a trade deal with the nation 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 need to, and that's been the ongoing approach of the administration in relation to China."