US President Donald Trump’s government has invited multiple countries to join his “Board of Peace” which is said to be aimed at resolving geopolitical conflicts, something the Republican has positioned himself as a champion of.
The invited countries have been asked to pay up to $1 billion for a permanent spot on the “Board of Peace”, originally conceived to oversee the rebuilding of Gaza, but the charter does not appear to limit its role to the Palestinian territory.
What does the new Trump project aim to do, and who is all in on it, are some of the questions that have been floating around. Will India be a part of the board? Here is a deep dive into what the ‘Board of Peace’ is all about.
What is Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, and what will it do?
Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” is “an international organisation that seeks to promote stability, restore dependable and lawful governance, and secure enduring peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict”, the charter’s preamble, sent to countries invited to participate, reads.
The preamble adds that the board will “undertake such peace-building functions in accordance with international law”. According to the charter, the Board of Peace will be chaired by Trump.
The executive board will be chaired by Trump and include seven members. These are US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump’s special negotiator Steve Witkoff, the US President’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, former UK PM Tony Blair, US billionaire Marc Rowan, World Bank president Ajay Banga, and US National Security Council member Robert Gabriel.
The charter says the board enters into force “upon expression of consent to be bound by three States”.
Donald Trump’s role beyond his presidential term
Donald Trump will be the chairman but will also “separately serve” as the United States’ representative. According to a US official quoted by AFP, his role may extend beyond his term in the White House as he can keep the chairmanship “until he resigns it”, although a future US president can appoint a different US representative.
The body’s charter states that “the chairman shall have exclusive authority to create, modify or dissolve subsidiary entities as necessary or appropriate to fulfil the Board of Peace’s mission”.
He will appoint members of an executive board as “leaders of global stature” to “serve two-year terms, subject to removal by the chairman”.
The charter says the chairman can be replaced only in case of “voluntary resignation or as a result of incapacity”.
The membership and will India take part?
Member states must be invited by the US president and will be represented by their head of state or government.
The charter stipulates that each member “shall serve a term of no more than three years”. But this stipulation shall not apply to member states that contribute more than $1,000,000,000 in cash funds to the Board of Peace within the first year of the charter’s entry into force”.
Dozens of countries and leaders have said they have received invitations, including close US allies and adversaries.
India has also received an invitation but is yet to take a call on joining the initiative, people familiar with the matter said on Monday.
The Indian side acknowledged on Sunday that it had been invited to join the initiative, and authorities are looking into the issue as it involves several sensitive issues, the people said on condition of anonymity. India’s position continues to be in support of a two-state solution and backing for all initiatives aimed at achieving a lasting peace in the region, they said, without going into details.
The US official said that membership itself “does not carry any mandatory funding obligation beyond whatever a state or partner chooses to contribute voluntarily”. The board will hold annual meetings, with decisions made by majority vote, and the chairman breaking any tie.
Who else got the invite, and who will join?
More than 60 countries, including India and China, have been invited to join Donald Trump’s Board of Peace. Both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have been invited, despite Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
A number of governments immediately said they would join. This includes Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a nationalist who is Trump’s most ardent supporter in the European Union, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, another close ally, and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev. The United Arab Emirates, a close US partner, also said it would join.
Canada’s Mark Carney government said it would take part but explicitly ruled out paying the $1-billion fee for permanent membership. Morocco, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Hungary, Argentina, Armenia and Belarus have agreed to take part.
Which countries said no?
China’s foreign ministry spokesman said on Wednesday that Beijing would defend the international system with the United Nations “at its core”, effectively rejecting Donald Trump’s proposal.
Longtime US ally France has indicated it will not join. The response sparked an immediate threat from Trump to slap sky-high tariffs on French wine.
Volodymyr Zelensky said it would be “very hard” to serve on a council alongside Russia, and that diplomats were “working on it”.
Britain echoed the sentiment, saying it was “concerned” that Vladimir Putin had been invited.
“Putin is the aggressor in an illegal war against Ukraine, and he has shown time and time again he is not serious about peace,” a Downing Street spokesperson was quoted by AFP as saying.
Italy has also said it will not join the initiative. Norway and Sweden have also said they won’t take part in the board.
“The American proposal raises a number of questions that requires further dialogue with the United States,” Norway’s State Secretary, Kristoffer Thoner said.
“Norway will therefore not join the proposed arrangements for the Board of Peace, and will therefore not attend a signing ceremony in Davos.”
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on the sidelines of Davos that his country isn’t signing up for the Board of Peace as the text currently stands, Swedish news agency TT reported