Davos: Trump launches “Board of Peace” with billion dollar membership pledge

Donald Trump, United States president,  has unveiled the first charter of his newly created Board of Peace, inviting representatives from Bahrain and Morocco to sign the founding document at a high-profile ceremony in Davos, Switzerland.

The initiative, announced on Thursday on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, is billed by Trump as a new global platform for resolving international conflicts. Permanent membership comes with a proposed contribution of one billion dollars, a price tag the US leader described as a marker of seriousness and prestige.

Read also: Six takeaways from Donald Trump’s speech at Davos

“Once this board is completely formed, we can do pretty much whatever we want to do,” Trump said as he signed the charter, flanked by leaders and senior officials from Argentina, Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Bahrain and Morocco.

Originally conceived as a mechanism to oversee the reconstruction of Gaza after Israel’s two year war on the territory, the Board of Peace now appears to have a far broader ambition. According to reports, the 11 page charter makes no reference to Gaza, instead setting out a framework that Trump suggested could extend to other global crises, a role traditionally associated with the United Nations.

Trump sought to downplay concerns that the board could undermine existing international institutions. “We will work with many others, including the United Nations,” he said, while adding that the UN had “tremendous potential” that had not yet been fully realised.

Read also: UK decline Trump’s invitation to join global board of peace in Gaza over Putin’s presence

Marco Rubio, US secretary of state said the immediate priority was ensuring that the Gaza ceasefire holds, but described the scope of the organisation as open ended. “This is not just a Board of Peace, this is a board of action,” Rubio said. “This is a group of leaders that are about action.”

Under current plans, Trump will chair the board alongside a founding executive council that includes Rubio, former United Kingdom prime minister Tony Blair, Trump’s son in law Jared Kushner, US special envoy Steve Witkoff, deputy national security adviser Robert Gabriel, World Bank Group president Ajay Banga and Apollo Global Management chief executive Marc Rowan.

Read also: Netanyahu joins Trump-led board of peace despite ICC warrant

US officials say between 50 and 60 countries have been invited to join, with around 25 indicating they are willing to sign on. While the one billion dollar contribution has been described as voluntary, participating countries are expected to support reconstruction efforts in Gaza.

Foreign ministers from Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Qatar confirmed in a joint statement that they would join the board. Kuwait’s foreign ministry said it had also accepted the invitation. Other participating states include Morocco, Argentina, Hungary, Armenia, Bahrain, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Belarus.

Several countries have declined to take part. British foreign secretary Yvette Cooper said the United Kingdom would opt out, citing concerns about Russian president Vladimir Putin’s possible involvement. France, Norway, Sweden and Slovenia have also refused to sign.

Russian state media reported that Putin was considering Trump’s invitation and was prepared to contribute one billion dollars, potentially using frozen Russian assets. Putin has said he is studying the proposal.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli prime minister has agreed to join the board, despite earlier criticism from his office over the make up of a subordinate committee linked to Gaza oversight. There is no Palestinian representative on the board.

Speaking about Gaza, Trump said the conflict was “really coming to an end” and described the remaining violence as “little fires” that could be easily extinguished. He said Hamas would “probably” keep its promises under the ceasefire but warned that failure to disarm would have severe consequences.

At least 466 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began on 10 October, according to the Hamas run health ministry.

Despite his long standing criticism of the United Nations, Trump said combining its efforts with the Board of Peace could mark a turning point. “This is something very unique for the world,” he said. “It is the first step towards a brighter day for the Middle East.”