Inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace, organization founded by US President Donald Trump, was held in Washington on Thursday, 19 February. The United States and a handful of other countries have announced that they would contribute billions of dollars to the organization whose main goal is rebuilding of the Gaza Strip. Many practical questions, however, remain unanswered.
In his opening address in Washington, President Trump stressed that “the Board of Peace shows how we can build a better future.” He also said that the United States would contribute US$10bn to the budget of the organization.
Every dollar spent on reconstruction of Gaza is an investment in stability and hope for a new and harmonious region. – Donald Trump, President of the United States
According to Mr Trump, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, and Kuwait have also donated money for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip. “Every dollar spent is an investment in stability and hope for a new and harmonious region,” Donald Trump said. He thanked the representatives of the countries and added that he expects contributions from other nations, too.
Iran on top of agenda
Although the first meeting of the Board of Peace was supposed to focus primarily on resolving the situation in the Gaza Strip, Mr Trump devoted much of his speech to the tense situation around Iran. The United States has assembled a large military force in the Middle East in recent weeks and is constantly threatening Tehran with military attack. “We do have some work to do with Iran (…) It is very simple. You can not have peace in the Middle East if they have a nuclear weapon,” President Trump said.
In addition to Mr Trump himself, the speaking list was dominated by Gulf countries. That includes representatives of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. Also leaders of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan were present, President of Indonesia, or the foreign minister of Turkey.
It has been announced that International Stabilization Force (ISF)—UN-mandated multinational peacekeeping force outlined in the Gaza Peace Plan—would consists of soldiers sent by Albania, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, and Morocco. More countries may follow. It remains unclear, however, whether ISF would intervene in the event of an attack by Israel or Hamas. It is also unclear whether these forces would participate in the demilitarization of Hamas.
You might be interested
The EU is holding back
The participation of European countries in the first meeting of the Peace Council was negligible, with most member states having declined the invitation or participating at a lower level as observers. However, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who is a close ally of Mr Trump, and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama did travel to Washington.
The EU itself was represented in the meeting by Dubravka Šuica, Commisioner for Mediterranean, in a role of an ’observer’. Earlier, European Commison has clearly declared that the EU will not become a member to the Board of Peace. Commission also stressed that Ms Šuica is participating in the meeting precisely in EU’s commitment to the implementation of the ceasefire in Gaza.
Gaza Peace Plan and possibly more
Board of Peace is an international organization announced by President Trump in September 2025. Its charter was signed on 22 January 2026. Originally it was intended as a body tasked with overseeing the processes of the Gaza Peace Plan.
Critics argue, however, that the institution currently bears little resemblance to the original idea and that it is rather centered on Mr Trump’s interests. Many suspect that Donald Trump is trying to direct the Board of Peace to become an alternative to the United Nations Security Council—with only Mr Trump holding the veto power. Participating countries would have to donate US$1bn to the organization to renew their membership after the first three years.
