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The Prime Minister has stated that the Gaza ceasefire agreement "would not have occurred without the leadership of Donald Trump," but stopped short of supporting the American leader for a Nobel Prize.

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

The prime minister remarked that the initial stage of the agreement would be a "relief to the world" and noted that the United Kingdom had played its own role behind the scenes with the US and negotiators.

Speaking on the last day of his business trip to India, the British leader emphasized that the agreement "must now be implemented in full, without delay, and accompanied by the prompt removal of all limitations on critical humanitarian aid to Gaza."

Peace Prize Question Answered

However, when questioned if the Nobel committee should now award Trump the prestigious prize, the Prime Minister implied that more time was needed to know if a longer lasting peace could be attained.

"What matters now is to move forward and implement this ... my focus now is transitioning 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.

Trade and Investment Revealed During India Visit

Starmer has hailed a number of deals sealed during his tour to India – his maiden visit there – accompanied by over a hundred executives and cultural leaders. The trip signifies 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 United Kingdom.
• On Thursday, the Prime Minister finalized a defence deal worth £350m for UK missiles, produced in Northern Ireland, to be used by the Indian army.

"The shared history is deep, the human connections between our people are truly special," Starmer said as he left Mumbai. "Expanding upon our historic trade deal, we are reinventing this partnership for our era."

Digital Identification Initiative Examined

Starmer has spent time in India analyzing the Indian digital ID system, including consulting key figures who designed the widespread system used by over a billion individuals for benefits, payments, and verification.

He suggested that the United Kingdom was considering broadening the scope of digital ID beyond making it compulsory to prove rights to work. He indicated that the Britain would in time look at linking it to financial and transaction networks – on a optional basis – as well as for official procedures such as mortgage and educational enrollments.

"It has been adopted on a optional basis [in India] in massive scale, partly because it means that you can retrieve your own funds, make payments so much more easily than is available with others," he explained.

"The efficiency with which it allows citizens here to utilize facilities, especially financial services, is something that was recognized in our discussions yesterday, and actually a Fintech discussion that we had today. So we're examining those examples of how digital ID assists 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 build public support for the initiatives to the British public, which have declined sharply in popularity since Starmer proposed 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 come with this ... as has occurred in other countries, people say: 'That will make my life easier,' and consequently I want to get on with it," he stated.

Rights Issues and International Relations Addressed

Starmer confirmed he had brought up a number of difficult topics with the Indian premier regarding civil liberties and ties with the Russian Federation, though he seemed to have made little headway. Starmer confirmed that he and Prime Minister Modi discussed how the country was persisting to purchase oil from Russia, which is facing extensive international restrictions.

"For prime minister Modi and myself the focus on resolving this conflict and the various steps will be implemented to that end," he commented. "And that was a broad spectrum of dialogue, but we did set out the actions that we are undertaking in relation to energy."

The Prime Minister also said he had raised the case of the UK-based activist the individual, from Dumbarton, who has been detained in an Indian jail for almost a decade without undergoing a full trial. It is often cited as one of the most egregious cases of unfair treatment among Britons currently detained overseas.

However, he did not suggest much advancement had been achieved. "Indeed, we did raise the diplomatic matters," he said. "We consistently address them when we have the chance to do so. I should say that the top diplomat is scheduled to meet the relatives in the near future, as well as discussing it today."

Upcoming Initiatives

The prime minister is widely expected to take a comparable trade-focused trip to the People's Republic of China in the next 12 months as part of a mission to ease relations between the United Kingdom and the Asian nation.

This bilateral connection is under the spotlight because of the dismissal of a Chinese spying case, said to have happened because the UK has been reluctant to provide fresh evidence that China is deemed a security risk.

The Prime Minister said the UK was keen to pursue additional commercial partnerships but emphasized that a trade deal with the nation was not currently planned. "It is not a priority, for a trade deal as such, but our stance is to work together where we are able, challenge where we must, and that's been the ongoing approach of the government in regarding China."