India sits out of Trump’s peace board on Gaza
India was among the countries not present on Thursday at a ceremony in Davos where US President Donald Trump unveiled his “Board of Peace” that seeks to work towards bringing lasting peace to Gaza and possibly resolve other global conflicts.Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among numerous global leaders who the US president invited to join the board that was announced under the second phase of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza strip.
Trump hosted the ceremony on the margins of the annual World Economic Forum in the Swiss mountain resort. India is yet to take a call on it, people familiar with the matter said when asked about Trump’s invite to PM Modi.New Delhi is considering various aspects as the initiative involves sensitive issues, it is learnt.India has been pushing for a “two-State solution” to the Palestine question with Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security within recognised borders.
France, Norway, Slovenia, Sweden and the United Kingdom are among those which will not join the board, at least for now.The countries that have accepted Trump’s invitation to join the board are Argentina, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Bulgaria, Egypt, Hungary, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Morocco, Mongolia, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.
The countries which have been invited but remained non-committal are: Cambodia, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Paraguay, Russia, Singapore, Thailand, and Ukraine.“This isn’t the United States, this is for the world,” Trump said. “I think we can spread it out to other things as we succeed in Gaza.”
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was among the leaders who attended the ceremony.
Trump’s “Board of Peace” is being projected by Washington as a new international body to usher in peace and stability in Gaza and beyond, triggering speculations that it could throw a challenge to the United Nations.Originally, the new body was to be tasked to oversee governance and coordinate funding for Gaza’s redevelopment as the strip was devastated during the two years of Israeli military offensive.
However, the “charter” of the board says it 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”. It says durable peace requires pragmatic judgment, common sense solutions, and the courage to depart from approaches and institutions that have too often failed.The top level of the board will consist “exclusively” of heads of state under Trump’s leadership.
Washington has already announced that the “Board of Peace” will play an essential role in fulfilling Trump’s 20-point plan of providing strategic oversight, mobilising international resources, and ensuring accountability as “Gaza transitions from conflict to peace and development”.The 20-point plan includes making Gaza a deradicalised terror-free zone that does not pose a threat to its neighbours and that it be redeveloped for the benefit of the people of the strip.
The White House last week announced forming a founding executive board to operationalise the Board of Peace’s vision.The members of the executive committee included US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, former British prime minister Tony Blair, US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, businessman and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and World Bank president Ajay Banga.
The other two members of the committee are Marc Rowan, the CEO of New York- headquartered private equity firm Apollo Global Management and Robert Gabriel, a US national security adviser.The executive board will oversee another administrative group called National Committee for the Administration of Gaza.
