Saudi Arabia and seven Muslim-majority countries including Gaza mediators Qatar and Turkey have agreed to join US President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace”, the Saudi foreign ministry said on Wednesday.
Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan and Qatar have accepted invitations to join U.S. President Donald Trump’s ”Board of Peace”.
In a joint statement, Saudi foreign ministry announced the “shared decision” of the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, and the United Arab Emirates to join the body to be chaired by Trump, saying they supported his “peace efforts” on the Gaza conflict.
Trump has invited dozens of world leaders to join his initiative aimed at resolving global conflicts, although diplomats say the move could harm the work of the United Nations.
What is Trump’s Board of Peace?
Trump first proposed the Board of Peace last September when he announced his plan to end the Gaza war. He later made clear the board’s remit would be expanded beyond Gaza to tackle other conflicts worldwide.
The U.S. president will be the inaugural chairman of the board and it will be tasked with promoting peace around the world and working to resolve conflicts, according to a copy of the draft charter seen by Reuters.
Member states would be limited to three-year terms unless they pay $1 billion each to fund the board’s activities and earn permanent membership, the charter says.
The White House has named U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, former British prime minister Tony Blair and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner as members of the initiative’s founding Executive Board.
It remains unclear what legal authority or enforcement tools the Board of Peace will have or how it will work with the United Nations and other international organisations.
The Board’s charter says its chairman, Trump, will have extensive executive power, including the ability to veto decisions and remove members, subject to some constraints.
According to its charter, the Board of Peace will undertake “peace-building functions in accordance with international law”.
The White House has also announced a Gaza Executive Board to support a transitional Palestinian administration in Gaza. It is unclear how the founding Executive Board and the Gaza Executive Board, which share some members, will function in practice.
With inputs from agencies
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