Keir Starmer Praises President Trump's Gaza Truce Agreement – But Stops Short of Peace Prize Endorsement

Keir Starmer has declared that the Gaza ceasefire agreement "would not have occurred without the leadership of Donald Trump," but avoided endorsing the American leader for a Nobel Prize.

Truce Agreement Welcomed as a "Relief to the Globe"

The prime minister remarked that the initial stage of the agreement would be a "welcome news globally" and noted that the United Kingdom had contributed significantly in private discussions with the US and mediators.

Speaking on the final day of his trade visit to India, Starmer emphasized that the agreement "must now be implemented in full, without delay, and paired with the prompt removal of all limitations on critical humanitarian aid to Gaza."

Peace Prize Inquiry Addressed

But, when questioned if the Nobel committee should now award Donald Trump the prestigious award, Starmer implied that time was required to determine if a durable peace could be attained.

"The priority now is to press on and execute this ... my attention now is transitioning this from the phase it's at now ... and make a 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

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

• The UK government has unveiled a range of financial commitments, from financial technology to university campuses, as well as the making of three Bollywood films in the UK.
• On the final day, the Prime Minister signed a defence deal worth £350m for UK missiles, produced in the UK region, to be deployed by the Indian army.

"The shared history is deep, the personal ties between our citizens are truly special," Starmer said as he left Mumbai. "Building on our historic trade deal, we are reinventing this alliance for our times."

Digital Identification Initiative Examined

Starmer has spent 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 verification.

The prime minister hinted that the United Kingdom was considering broadening the scope of digital identification beyond making it mandatory to verify eligibility to work. He indicated that the Britain would in time look at connecting it to financial and payments systems – on a voluntary basis – as well as for official procedures such as home loan and school applications.

"It's been taken up on a voluntary basis [in India] in huge numbers, not least because it ensures that you can access your own funds, make payments so much more conveniently than is available with others," he explained.

"The efficiency with which it enables residents here to access services, especially banking options, is something that was acknowledged in our talks yesterday, and actually a financial technology conversation that we had today. So we're examining those examples of how digital identification helps individuals with processes that sometimes take too long and are overly complex and simplifies them for them."

Popular Backing for Reforms

The Prime Minister admitted that the administration had to make the case for the initiatives to the British public, which have declined sharply in popularity since he proposed them.

"In my view now we need to go out and make that case the huge benefits ... And I believe that the more people see the benefits that accompany this ... as has occurred in different nations, people say: 'That will simplify my daily routine,' and consequently I want to proceed with it," he stated.

Rights Issues and International Relations Addressed

Starmer said he had raised a range of challenging issues with the Indian leader regarding human rights and ties with Russia, though he seemed to have made minimal progress. He acknowledged that he and Modi discussed how the country was continuing to buy oil from Russia, which is facing widespread western sanctions.

"For both Prime Minister Modi and me the priority on resolving this situation and the various steps will be implemented to that end," he said. "This included a wide range of discussion, but we did set out the actions that we are taking in regarding energy."

The Prime Minister also said he had raised the situation of the UK-based activist the individual, from Scotland, who has been held in an Indian prison for almost a decade without facing a complete legal process. It is frequently mentioned as one of the worst examples of unfair treatment among UK nationals currently detained abroad.

But, Starmer did not indicate much progress had been made. "Yes, 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 foreign secretary is meeting the relatives in the near future, as well as discussing it today."

Future Plans

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

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

The Prime Minister clarified the United Kingdom was eager to explore other trading relationships but stated that a commercial agreement with China 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 that's been the consistent policy of the administration in regarding China."