India absent as Trump rolls out Board of Peace with 19 nations attending

India absent as Trump rolls out Board of Peace with 19 nations attending

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday inaugurated his Board of Peace to lead efforts at maintaining a ceasefire in Israel’s war against Hamas, insisting that “everyone wants to be a part” of the body that could eventually rival the United Nations — despite many U.S. allies opting not to participate.

India was among the countries not present at the ceremony. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the numerous global leaders invited by Mr. Trump to join the Board. India is yet to take a call on it, people familiar with the matter said when asked about the invite. Pakistan, Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE are among the countries that have accepted Mr. Trump’s invitation.

While Mr. Trump said 59 countries have signed onto the board, representatives of only 19 countries and the U.S. were present at the event at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

“You’re the most powerful people in the world,” Mr. Trump told the group, ranging from Azerbaijan to Paraguay to Hungary.

“This is not the United States, this is for the world,” Mr. Trump said, adding, “I think we can spread it out to other things as we succeed in Gaza.”

The event also saw Ali Shaath, former Palestinian Authority official from Gaza who is overseeing the Palestinian committee set to govern the territory under U.S. supervision, announcing that the Rafah border crossing, between Gaza and Egypt, will open in both directions next week.

Scepticism among allies

The U.S. President’s attempt to create momentum for a project to map out a future for the war-torn Gaza Strip has been overshadowed this week, first by his threat to seize Greenland and then by a dramatic retreat from that push.

The board proposed by Mr. Trump was initially envisioned as a small group of world leaders overseeing the ceasefire but has morphed into something far more ambitious — and scepticism about its membership and mandate has led some countries usually closest to Washington to take a pass.

The countries that have accepted Mr. 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, Turkiye, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.

Mr. Trump has spoken about the board replacing some UN functions and perhaps even making that entire body obsolete one day. But he was more conciliatory in his remarks on the sidelines of the forum in the Swiss alps. “We’ll do it in conjunction with the United Nations,” Mr. Trump said, even as he denigrated the UN for doing what he said wasn’t enough to calm some conflicts around the globe.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that some countries’ leaders have indicated they plan to join but still require approval from their Parliaments.