Foreign Ministers of eight Islamic countries including Arab nations have accepted US President Donald Trump's invitation to join the "Board of Peace" for Gaza to support the effort for bringing peace to the troubled region.
In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of Qatar, Turkiye, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates said they welcomed an invitation extended by Trump to their leaders to join the body and had taken a "shared decision" to sign on. "The Ministers announce their countries' shared decision to join the Board of Peace. Each country will sign the joining documents according to their respective relevant legal and other necessary procedures, including the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, and the United Arab Emirates, that have already announced to join," the ministers said in a statement.
The Ministers reiterated their support for peace efforts led by Trump and said they were committed to supporting the implementation of the Board of Peace’s mission as a transitional administration under a broader plan to end the war in Gaza.
Several countries, including India, invited
Several countries have received invitations to join the Peace Board. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin have also received invitations to join the board. Many European nations have declined their invitations. Many have not yet responded to Trump's invitation.
Chaired by Trump, the board was originally envisioned as a small group of world leaders overseeing the Gaza ceasefire plan. But the Trump administration's ambitions have since expanded, with Trump extending invitations to dozens of nations and hinting at the board's future role as conflict mediator.
A White House official has said about 30 countries were expected to join the board, without providing details, while about 50 had been invited.
Here is a tally on what countries are joining, which are not, and which are undecided.
Countries that have accepted to join the board:
- Argentina
- Armenia
- Azerbaijan
- Bahrain
- Belarus
- Egypt
- Hungary
- Indonesia
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Kosovo
- Morocco
- Pakistan
- Qatar
- Saudi Arabia
- Turkey
- United Arab Emirates
- Uzbekistan
- Vietnam
- Israel
Countries that will not join the board:
- France
- Norway
- Slovenia
- Sweden
Countries that have been invited:
- India
- Britain
- China
- Croatia
- Germany
- Italy
- European Union's executive arm
- Paraguay
- Russia
- Singapore
- Ukraine
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