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Keir Starmer has declared that the Gaza ceasefire agreement "would not have occurred without the leadership of Donald Trump," but stopped short of supporting the US president for a Nobel Prize.

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

Starmer remarked that the initial stage of the agreement would be a "relief to the world" and noted that the UK had contributed significantly in private discussions with the United States and mediators.

Addressing the media on the final day of his business trip to the Indian subcontinent, the British leader stressed that the agreement "needs to be put into action in full, without delay, and paired with the prompt removal of all restrictions on life-saving humanitarian aid to Gaza."

Nobel Prize Question Addressed

However, when asked if the Nobel committee should now award Donald Trump the coveted award, Starmer implied that time was required to determine if a longer lasting peace could be achieved.

"The priority now is to move forward and implement this ... my attention now is transitioning 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.

Business Deals Announced During India Visit

Starmer has hailed a number of deals finalized during his tour to the country – his first time there – joined by 126 business leaders and cultural leaders. The trip signifies the implementation of the countries' free trade agreement.

• The UK government has announced a slew of investments, from fintech to university campuses, as well as the making of three Bollywood films in the United Kingdom.
• On Thursday, Starmer finalized a defence deal worth £350m for British-made missiles, produced in Northern Ireland, to be used by the Indian army.

"The shared history is profound, the human connections between our people are truly special," he remarked as he left Mumbai. "Expanding upon our landmark agreement, we are reinventing this partnership for our times."

Digital Identification System Studied

The Prime Minister has spent time in Mumbai analyzing the national digital identification program, including meeting principal architects who developed the widespread system utilized by more than 1 billion people for benefits, payments, and identification.

The prime minister hinted that the United Kingdom was interested in expanding the application of digital identification beyond making it mandatory to prove rights to work. He indicated that the UK would eventually look at linking it to banking and transaction networks – on a optional basis – as well as for administrative tasks such as home loan and school applications.

"It has been adopted on a voluntary basis [in India] in huge numbers, not least because it means 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 enables citizens here to access services, particularly banking options, is something that was acknowledged in our discussions recently, and in fact a Fintech discussion that we had today. So we're looking at those examples of how digital identification helps individuals with procedures that sometimes take excessive time and are too cumbersome and makes them easier for them."

Popular Backing for Reforms

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

"I think 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 accompany this ... as has occurred in different nations, people say: 'That will make my life easier,' and therefore I want to proceed with it," he affirmed.

Rights Issues and Global Affairs Discussed

Starmer confirmed he had raised a number of difficult topics with the Indian leader regarding human rights and relations with Russia, though he appeared to have made minimal progress. Starmer acknowledged that he and Modi talked about how the country was continuing to buy Russian oil, which is facing extensive international restrictions.

"For prime minister Modi and myself the priority on resolving this conflict and the various steps will be taken to that end," he commented. "And that was a broad spectrum of discussion, but we did set out the steps that we are taking in regarding energy."

The Prime Minister additionally said he had raised the situation of the British Sikh activist Jagtar Singh Johal, from Dumbarton, who has been held in an Indian jail for nearly eight years without undergoing a full trial. It is often cited as one of the worst examples of injustice among Britons currently detained abroad.

But, Starmer did not indicate much progress had been achieved. "Indeed, we did raise the consular cases," he said. "We consistently address them when we have the chance to do so. I should say that the foreign secretary is scheduled to meet the relatives in the near future, 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 improve diplomatic ties between the United Kingdom and the Asian nation.

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

The Prime Minister clarified the UK was eager to explore other trading relationships but stated that a trade deal with China was not on the agenda. "That's not on our list, for a bilateral pact as such, but our stance is to cooperate where we are able, confront where we must, and this has been the consistent policy of the government in regarding China."