US President Donald Trump speaks during a briefing in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on January 20, 2026. The White House said President Donald Trump will hold a press conference Tuesday exactly a year into his second term, amid acute international tension over his drive to take over Greenland.PHOTO: AFP
United States President Donald Trump’s government has asked countries to pay $1 billion for a permanent spot on his “Board of Peace” aimed at resolving conflicts, according to its charter seen by AFP.
The board was originally conceived to oversee the rebuilding of Gaza, but the charter does not appear to limit its role to the occupied Palestinian territory.
What will it do?
The Board of Peace will be chaired by Trump, according to its founding charter.
It is “an international organisation that seeks to promote stability, restore dependable and lawful governance, and secure enduring peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict”, reads the preamble of the charter sent to countries invited to participate.
It will “undertake such peace-building functions in accordance with international law”, it adds.
Read More: Trump’s Gaza peace board charter seeks $1b for extended membership
Who will run it?
Trump will be chairman but also “separately serve as inaugural representative” of the US.
“The chairman shall have exclusive authority to create, modify, or dissolve subsidiary entities as necessary or appropriate to fulfil the Board of Peace’s mission,” the document states.
He will pick members of an executive board to be “leaders of global stature” to “serve two-year terms, subject to removal by the chairman”.
He may also, “acting on behalf of the Board of Peace”, “adopt resolutions or other directives”.
The chairman can be replaced only in case of “voluntary resignation or as a result of incapacity”.
Who can be a member?
Member states must be invited by the US president, and will be represented by their head of state or government.
Each member “shall serve a term of no more than three years”, the charter says.
But “the three-year membership term shall not apply to member states that contribute more than $1b in cash funds to the Board of Peace within the first year of the charter’s entry into force”, it adds.
The board will “convene voting meetings at least annually”, and “each member state shall have one vote”.
But while all decisions require “a majority of member states present and voting”, they will also be “subject to the approval of the chairman, who may also cast a vote in his capacity as chairman in the event of a tie”.
Who’s on the executive board?
The executive board will “operationalise” the organisation’s mission, according to the White House, which said it would be chaired by Trump and include seven members:
– US Secretary of State Marco Rubio
– Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special negotiator
– Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law
– Tony Blair, former UK prime minister
– Marc Rowan, billionaire US financier
– Ajay Banga, World Bank president
– Robert Gabriel, loyal Trump aide on the National Security Council
Which countries are invited?
Dozens of countries and leaders have said they have received an invitation.
Also Read: UAE becomes early supporter of Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ with formal acceptance
They include China, India, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky and Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Argentina’s President Javier Milei have also confirmed an invitation.
Other countries to confirm invitations include Jordan, Brazil, Paraguay, Pakistan and a host of nations from Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East.
Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi confirmed that Trump had extended an invitation to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to join the board, underlining Islamabad’s continued engagement with international efforts aimed at peace and stability in Gaza.
Who will join?
Countries from Albania to Vietnam have indicated a willingness to join the board.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Trump’s most ardent supporter in the European Union, is in.
The top US ally in the Middle East, the United Arab Emirates, was also quick to join the initiative.
Canada said it would take part, but explicitly ruled out paying the $1b fee for permanent membership.
It is unclear whether any of the countries that have responded positively, a list including Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Morocco, would be willing to pay the $1b.
Who won’t be involved?
Long-time US ally France has indicated it will not join. The response sparked an immediate threat from Trump to slap sky-high tariffs on French wine.
Zelensky said it would be “very hard” to be a member of a council alongside Russia, and diplomats were “working on it”.
The UK echoed the sentiment, saying it was “concerned” that Putin had been invited.
“Putin is the aggressor in an illegal war against Ukraine, and he has shown time and time again he is not serious about peace,” said a Downing Street spokesperson.
When does it start?
The charter says it enters into force “upon expression of consent to be bound by three States”.
