Trump invites India to join proposed 'Board of Peace' for Gaza
NEW DELHI: US President Donald Trump has invited India to join his proposed "Board of Peace" for Gaza, sources told TNIE on Sunday, as Washington seeks to shape post-war governance and reconstruction in the besieged enclave.
Sources said the invitation letter was sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 16, without divulging any other detail.
"It is my Great Honor to invite you, as Prime Minister of the Republic of India, to join me in a critically Historic and Magnificent effort to solidify Peace in the Middle East and, at the same time, to embark on a bold new approach to resolving Global Conflict!" the letter from Trump read.
The invitation comes as the US administration moves to formalise the "Board of Peace" structure linked to Trump’s wider Gaza roadmap, with the board to be made up of world leaders.
Several global leaders have been invited to be part of the board, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and the leaders of France, Germany, Australia and Canada.
Earlier on Sunday, Pakistan’s Foreign Office said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had been invited to be part of the initiative, while Jordan, Greece and Cyprus said they had also received invitations to join the board.
More details about the proposed body surfaced after letters sent by Trump to Argentine President Javier Milei and Paraguayan President Santiago Peña were posted by the two leaders on social media. In his letter to Milei, Trump said the board would work to "solidify peace in the Middle East" and pursue a "bold new approach to resolving global conflict."
A draft charter circulated by the Trump administration to around 60 countries reportedly requires member states to contribute $1 billion for memberships extending beyond three years. US officials said the money raised would go to rebuilding Gaza.
Trump earlier unveiled a list of members, naming former British prime minister Tony Blair as a founding executive member, alongside his son-in-law Jared Kushner, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, World Bank Group President Ajay Banga, deputy national security adviser Robert Gabriel and Israeli billionaire Yakir Gabay.
Several of these figures are also part of a proposed "Gaza executive board", which would oversee a National Committee for the Administration of Gaza made up of Palestinian technocrats.
Trump unveiled the initiative as part of the second phase of his 20-point ceasefire framework between Israel and Hamas, with the board expected to support governance, reconstruction, investment and capital mobilisation in the war-torn strip.
Hamas had earlier said it will dissolve its existing government in Gaza once a Palestinian technocratic leadership committee takes over the territory, as mandated under the US-brokered peace plan. But the group gave no specifics on when the change will occur.
The US is likely to announce its official list of members in the coming days, likely during the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
Those on the board will oversee next steps in Gaza as the ceasefire that took effect on Oct. 10 moves into its challenging second phase. It includes a new Palestinian committee in Gaza, the deployment of an international security force, disarmament of Hamas and reconstruction of the war-battered territory.
In letters sent Friday to world leaders inviting them to be "founding members," Trump said the Board of Peace would "embark on a bold new approach to resolving global conflict."
That could become a potential rival to the United Nations, the global body created in the wake of World War II. Its clout has been diminished by major funding cuts by the Trump administration and other donors, and its most powerful body, the UN Security Council (UNSC), has been blocked by US vetoes from taking action to end the war in Gaza.
Trump's invitation letters for the Board of Peace noted that the UNSC had endorsed the US 20-point Gaza ceasefire plan, which includes the board's creation. The letters were posted on social media by some invitees.
The White House last week also announced an executive committee of leaders who will carry out the Board of Peace's vision, but Israel on Saturday objected that the committee "was not coordinated with Israel and is contrary to its policy," without details.
The statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office was rare criticism of its close ally in Washington.