Pakistan among 19 countries signing charter; Shehbaz signs document along with other executives; Britain, France skip ceremony
US President Donald Trump shares a lighter moment with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during the unveiling of the ‘Board of Peace’ on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos. Photo: Express
DAVOS:
US President Donald Trump launched his new “Peace Agency” in Davos on Thursday with a signing ceremony for a body with a membership fee of $1 billion and a host of invitees.
A group of leaders and senior officials from 19 countries — including Trump allies from Argentina and Hungary — gathered on stage with Trump to add their names to the body’s charter.
Pakistan signed the board’s charter as part of its ongoing efforts to support the implementation of the Gaza peace plan.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signed the document along with other world leaders including those from Qatar, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Argentina, Kosovo, Paraguay, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, Bulgaria and others.
The US President was the first to sign the charter, who later witnessed the ceremony held on the sidelines of the 56th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum held here.
Pakistan had received the invitation from President Trump to join the board, which was later accepted.
Pakistan was among the eight Muslim states that announced on Wednesday to be part of the body, which included Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Türkiye, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
It was announced that each country would sign the accession documents according to their respective relevant legal and other necessary procedures, including Egypt, Pakistan and the UAE, which have already announced to join.
Pakistan had expressed hope that with the creation of this framework, concrete steps would be taken towards the implementation of a permanent ceasefire, further scaling up of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians as well as reconstruction of Gaza.
“Pakistan also hopes that these efforts will lead to the realization of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination through a credible, time-bound political process, in accordance with international legitimacy and relevant UN resolutions, resulting in the establishment of an independent, sovereign and contiguous State of Palestine, based on the pre-1967 borders,” Al-Sharif’s Foreign Office said earlier.
President Trump said during the ceremony: “everyone” wants to be part of his peace council.
He said he will continue to “work with many others, including the United Nations”.
Once this board is fully formed, we can pretty much do whatever we want. And we will do it in cooperation with the United Nations,” Trump said, adding that the United Nations had great potential that had not been fully exploited.
There is tremendous potential with the United Nations, and I think the combination of the Board of Peace with the kind of people we have here — could be something very, very unique for the world,” Trump said.
He also reiterated that his administration had helped stop eight wars within a ten-month period, specifically referring to the prevention of a war between the two nuclear powers, Pakistan and India.
Trump – who chairs the board for peace – said they were “in most cases very popular leaders, in some cases not so popular. That’s the way it is in life.”
Originally intended to oversee peace in Gaza after the war between Hamas and Israel, the board’s charter envisions a broader role in resolving international conflicts, raising concerns that Trump wants it to compete with the United Nations.
However, Trump said the organization would work “together” with the United Nations.
The Board of Peace’s potential membership has proved controversial, however, with Trump inviting Russian President Vladimir Putin, who invaded Ukraine four years ago.
Trump said Putin had agreed to attend, while the Russian leader said he was still studying the invitation.
Permanent members must also pay $1 billion to participate, leading to criticism that the board could become a “pay to play” version of the UN Security Council.
UK, France snub signing
Key US allies, including France and Britain, have expressed skepticism, and Britain said Thursday it would not attend the ceremony.
The members on stage largely had close ties to Trump, including Hungary’s Viktor Orban and Argentina’s Javier Milei, or a desire to show their allegiance to the US president.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court over the war in Gaza, has said he will attend but was not at the ceremony.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the ceremony that the board’s focus was “first and foremost on making sure that this peace deal in Gaza is lasting.”
Trump, however, said Hamas would disarm during the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal or it will be “the end of them.”
The launch of the board comes amid Trump’s frustration at failing to win the Nobel Peace Prize despite his controversial claim to have ended eight conflicts.
