Trump unveils his Board of Peace alongside leaders of first nations
by ELIANA SILVER, SENIOR FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER · Mail OnlineUS President Donald Trump signed the charter of his 'Board of Peace,' with other founding members in Davos on Thursday, as he told the audience 'we can do pretty much whatever we want to do'.
The signing kicked off with representatives from Bahrain and Morocco followed by Trump allies such as Argentina's Javier Milei and Hungary's Viktor Orban as well as Qatar's Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani.
Amongst the other leaders present were Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan's Prime Minister, Santiago Pena, President of Paraguay, Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister, and Vjosa Osmani, Kosovo's President.
Overall, the countries represented onstage Thursday were Bahrain, Morocco, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Hungary, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Mongolia, Pakistan, Paraguay, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the UAE and Uzbekistan.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces an International Criminal Court arrest warrant over the war in Gaza, has said he will join but was not at the ceremony.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum, the US President said: 'Once this board is completely formed, we can do pretty much whatever we want to do. And we'll do it in conjunction with the United Nations.'
According to the charter, the Board of Peace will be 'an international organization that seeks to promote stability, restore dependable and lawful governance, and secure enduring peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict'.
Trump has claimed 'every country' wants to join, despite notable snubs by US allies including the UK, France and Canada.
Speaking on stage at Davos, Trump said: 'Every country, just about every country, wants to be a part of it. And we just sent out the letters a couple of days ago, and these are just the countries that are here. They happen to be in Davos.'
Of the leaders who were on stage, Trump said: 'Every one of them is a friend of mine...' before joking that there's 'a couple I don't like.'
He then confirmed: 'I like every single one of them. Can you believe it? Usually I have about two or three that I don't like.'
The US president later praised his fellow leaders, saying that 'everybody in the room is a star or you wouldn't be here.'
In his speech, Trump boasted about his peacemaking record as he claimed to have ended eight wars across the world, adding he was close to resolving another in reference to Russia and Ukraine.
He told the crowd: 'Today, the world is richer, safer and much more peaceful than it was just one year ago. We put out all those fires a lot of people didn't know, including me.'
Originally intended to help end the devastating Gaza war, the President now sees the board as having a wider role that Europe and some others fear will rival or undermine the United Nations.
The inclusion of Putin has caused particular concern among US allies, but especially in Ukraine as it seeks an end to Moscow's nearly four-year-old invasion.
Trump will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Davos after the 'Board of Peace' ceremony to discuss a ceasefire in Ukraine - the major peace deal that continues to elude him.
Tony Blair turned up for the launch today despite the UK today confirming it would not be joining after the invite was extended to the Russian president.
The former PM was namechecked by the US president at the ceremony in Davos, where he hailed the level of interest in participating.
'Thank you, Tony, for being here. We appreciate it,' the US president said.
Sir Tony is an executive member of the board alongside Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.
During his speech, Trump claimed the war in Gaza is 'coming to an end' and now consisted of 'little fires'.
He said that there was a commitment to ensure Gaza was demilitarised and 'beautifully rebuilt'.
The US President added that Hamas had to disarm under the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire accord or it will be the 'end of them.'
Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, later took to the stage to unveil a 'master plan' for the future of Gaza.
He said it will be conducted in phases, including 100% employment and 'opportunity for everyone'.
Trump then shared his thoughts on the plan, saying: 'I'm a real estate person at heart, and it's all about location, and I said, look at this location on the sea, look at this beautiful piece of property, what it could be for so many people.
'It'll be so, so great. People that are living so poorly are going to be living so well. But it all began with the location.'
The US President was instrumental in a ceasefire which resulted in the exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners last year.