Keir Starmer Commends President Trump's Gaza Ceasefire Deal – But Declines of Peace Prize Backing

The Prime Minister has declared that the Gaza ceasefire agreement "would not have occurred without President Trump's leadership," yet stopped short of supporting the US president for a Nobel peace prize.

Ceasefire Deal Hailed as a "Relief to the World"

The prime minister remarked that the first phase of the deal would be a "welcome news globally" and noted that the UK had contributed significantly in private discussions with the United States and negotiators.

Addressing the media on the last day of his business trip to the Indian subcontinent, Starmer stressed that the agreement "must now be implemented in full, without delay, and paired with the immediate lifting of all restrictions on critical humanitarian aid to Gaza."

Peace Prize Inquiry Addressed

But, when asked if the Nobel prize committee should at this time grant Donald Trump the coveted award, Starmer suggested that time was required to know 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 phase it's at now ... and ensure the success of this, because that is important to me more than anything else," he stated at a media briefing in India's financial capital.

Trade and Investment Revealed During Trip to India

Starmer has celebrated a series of agreements sealed during his tour to the country – his first time there – joined by 126 business leaders and arts figures. The trip signifies the implementation of the two nations' trade pact.

• The UK government 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 United Kingdom.
• On Thursday, the Prime Minister finalized a military agreement worth £350m for British-made missiles, produced in the UK region, to be deployed by the Indian military.

"The shared history is deep, the human connections between our people are exceptionally strong," he said as he left the city. "Building on our landmark agreement, we are reinventing this partnership for our era."

Digital ID System Examined

The Prime Minister has dedicated time in Mumbai studying the Indian digital ID system, including meeting principal architects who developed the widespread system used by over a billion individuals for benefits, payments, and identification.

He suggested that the United Kingdom was interested in broadening the application of digital ID beyond making it compulsory to verify eligibility to work. He indicated that the UK would in time look at linking it to banking and transaction networks – on a voluntary basis – as well as for official procedures such as mortgage and school applications.

"It has been adopted 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 conveniently than is possible with alternative methods," he explained.

"The efficiency with which it enables citizens here to access services, especially financial services, is something that was acknowledged in our discussions yesterday, and actually a financial technology discussion that we had as well. So we're looking at those examples of how digital identification helps individuals with processes that sometimes take excessive time and are too cumbersome and simplifies them for them."

Public Support for Changes

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

"I think now we need to go out and make that case the significant advantages ... And I believe that the greater number of individuals see the positive outcomes that come with this ... as has occurred in other countries, people say: 'That will simplify my daily routine,' and consequently I want to proceed with it," he stated.

Rights Issues and Global Affairs Addressed

Starmer said he had brought up a number of difficult topics with the Indian leader regarding human rights and relations with Russia, though he appeared 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 subject to widespread western sanctions.

"For both Prime Minister Modi and me the focus on resolving this situation and the multiple measures will be implemented to that end," he said. "And that was a broad spectrum of discussion, but we did set out the steps that we are undertaking in regarding energy."

Starmer additionally said he had raised the situation of the UK-based activist Jagtar Singh Johal, from Dumbarton, 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 Britons still held overseas.

However, he did not suggest much progress had been achieved. "Yes, 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 meeting the families in coming weeks, as well as raising it now."

Future Plans

The prime minister is largely anticipated to take a comparable business-oriented trip to the People's Republic of China in the coming year as part of a mission to ease diplomatic ties between the United Kingdom and China.

This bilateral connection is receiving attention because of the collapse of a Chinese spying case, said to have happened because the British authorities has been reluctant to provide fresh evidence that the country is deemed a security risk.

Starmer said the United Kingdom was eager to explore additional commercial partnerships but emphasized 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 work together where we are able, challenge where we need to, and that's been the ongoing approach of the administration in regarding China."