Washington: US President Donald Trump will convene the inaugural Board of Peace meeting, during which member states will announce over $5 billion in investment for Gaza reconstruction and related security measures.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is also set to attend the inaugural Board of Peace meeting on Thursday, with delegations from over 40 nations, including India.
Convened by President Donald Trump, the administration has positioned the Board of Peace as a central mechanism to oversee humanitarian relief, reconstruction, and security arrangements in Gaza.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that member states “have pledged more than $5 billion towards the Gaza humanitarian and reconstruction efforts, and have also committed thousands of personnel to the International Stabilisation Force and local police to maintain security and peace for Gazans.”
She described the funding as “$5 billion worth of investment. We’re talking about reconstructing Gaza.”
On oversight of the funds, Leavitt said: “It will be the Board of Peace, which the (US) President is, of course, the chairman of. But all of the member parties, I believe, will have votes on the funding, and then of course there is that technocratic layer underneath the official Board of Peace with the member countries that will be making decisions as well.”
Speakers expected at the meeting include President Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, his top advisor Jared Kushner, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and High Representative Nickolay Mladenov.
Senior administration officials released a list of over 40 countries that they said would be participating in the meeting. Countries sending representatives include India, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Pakistan.
“President Trump is proud to welcome representatives from over 40 nations to the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace on Thursday for a big announcement on Board of Peace actions to establish an enduring peace in the Middle East,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said.
She said that since the President and his team “ended the war between Israel and Hamas last October, we have maintained the ceasefire, delivered historic amounts of humanitarian aid, and freed every single living and dead hostage.”
“The Board of Peace will continue this historic success and prove itself to be the most consequential international body in history,” she added.
In New York, US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz said the Board of Peace will hold its inaugural meeting in Washington, focusing on peace and security. He added that the Board “will announce tomorrow over $5 billion in pledges for rebuilding.”
Waltz said that “before reconstruction can move forward, Hamas must and will disarm; all military, terror, and offensive infrastructure… must be destroyed and not rebuilt, and Gaza must be demilitarised and deradicalised.”
At the United Nations, Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo said, “The Board of Peace meeting in Washington, D.C., tomorrow is an important step.” She called for “concrete progress toward stabilisation and recovery” and “a credible political path leading to a negotiated two-State solution.”
(IANS)
