Trump seeks $1 billion for permanent seats on new “Board of Peace,” a Gaza-born plan with global reach and sweeping chair powers
U.S. President Donald Trump is asking countries to pay $1 billion (€853 million) for a permanent place on a new “Board of Peace” intended to resolve conflicts worldwide, according to a charter seen by AFP. Conceived initially to oversee Gaza’s reconstruction, the body’s mandate is not limited to the Palestinian territory and would allow the chairman—Trump—to steer its agenda and operations.
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The charter says the Board of Peace will undertake “peace-building functions in accordance with international law” and be chaired by Trump, who would also serve as the inaugural U.S. representative. The chairman is granted exclusive authority to create, modify or dissolve subsidiary entities, adopt resolutions or directives on the board’s behalf, and approve or reject board decisions. Replacement of the chairman is allowed only in cases of voluntary resignation or incapacity.
Member states must be invited by the U.S. president and would be represented by their head of state or government, with standard terms lasting up to three years. The charter carves out a path to permanent membership for countries that contribute more than $1 billion in cash within the board’s first year—exempting those members from the three-year limit.
Voting meetings are to be convened at least annually. Each member state holds one vote, but all decisions require not only a majority of members present and voting, they are also subject to approval by the chairman. The chair may cast a tie-breaking vote.
The White House said the executive board, tasked with operationalizing the mission, will be chaired by Trump and include seven members: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio; Trump’s special negotiator Steve Witkoff; Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law; former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair; U.S. financier Marc Rowan; World Bank President Ajay Banga; and Robert Gabriel, a Trump aide on the U.S. National Security Council.
Dozens of invitations have gone out, including to China, India, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney. Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Argentina’s President Javier Milei have also confirmed receipt, as have Jordan, Brazil, Paraguay, Pakistan and a wide array of European, Central Asian and Middle Eastern nations.
Several governments have signaled they are prepared to join, from Albania to Vietnam. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, one of Trump’s closest allies in the European Union, has said he is in. Canada said it would participate but explicitly ruled out paying the $1 billion fee for permanent membership. It remains unclear whether other countries that responded positively—including Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Morocco and Vietnam—would be willing to make the contribution required to lock in permanent status.
France, a longtime U.S. ally, has indicated it will not join the Board of Peace, prompting an immediate threat from Trump to impose steep tariffs on French wine. Ukraine’s Zelensky said it would be “very hard” to sit on a council alongside Russia, adding that diplomats were working on the issue.
The charter states the board will enter into force “upon expression of consent to be bound by three States,” leaving the timeline dependent on how quickly governments formalize their participation. While the concept was born from the urgent task of rebuilding Gaza after months of war, the charter’s global scope and the chairman’s centralized powers signal an attempt to create a parallel peace forum with direct executive control from the White House.
Whether countries will accept the financial terms, the governance structure and the political optics—especially where adversaries are invited to sit together—will determine if Trump’s Board of Peace can move from an ambitious blueprint to an active venue for conflict resolution.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
