Who is on Trump’s Gaza ‘Board of Peace’?

US President Donald Trump was surrounded by world leaders as he declared that the war in Gaza was “really nearing its end” at the signing ceremony of the “Peace Board” he prepared for the region.

But many countries are not represented, and Trump singled out Spain for criticism of defense spending at the podium, saying, “They want a free ride.”

The United Arab Emirates, Hungary and Pakistan were represented at the World Economic Forum ceremony in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday. The board is intended to oversee the reconstruction of Gaza.

This is the person who is on the board and attended the signing event.

• Isa bin Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Minister of the Prime Minister’s Court, Bahrain
• Nasser Bourita, Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs
• Javier Milei, President, Argentina
• Nikol Pashinyan, Prime Minister, Armenia
• Ilham Aliyev, President, Azerbaijan
• Rosen Zhelyazkov, Prime Minister of Bulgaria
• Viktor Orban, Prime Minister, Hungary
• Prabowo Subianto, President, Indonesia
• Ayman Al Safadi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Jordan
• Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President, Kazakhstan
• Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu, President of Kosovo
• Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, Prime Minister of Pakistan
• Santiago Peña, President of Paraguay
• Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, President of Qatar
• Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia
• Hakan Fidan, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Türkiye
• US special envoy to the UAE Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak
• Shavkat Mirziyoyev, President of Uzbekistan
• Gombojavyn Zandanshatar, Prime Minister, Mongolia

A long list of countries, including Canada, France, Germany, Italy and other European countries, did not sign, and some specifically rejected the invitation.

British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told the BBC on Thursday:I will not be one of the signatories todayHe expressed concerns about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invitation to participate.

Spain did not send a representative to the signing ceremony, with an invitation for Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to attend “under review”. According to Spanish media.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin received an invitation to join Trump’s peace group on Monday and was “studying all the details of this offer,” but no representatives were present at the signing event on Thursday.

In an interview with CNBC on Wednesday, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said that the US administration will meet with Putin about participation in the Peace Board. Witkoff said, “We should go to meet him on Thursday. But it is the Russians who want this meeting.”

France, like Germany, reportedly turned down the invitation to join the board, according to a Spiegel report citing a document from the State Department. “We need more time,” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told state broadcaster RAI on Wednesday. “There is work to be done. But my stance remains firmly on the side of openness,” he said. According to Reuters report.

Belgium has also not signed the convention, Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said in a statement published on Thursday X. “We want a common and coordinated European response. Like many European countries, we have reservations about this proposal,” he said.

Sweden, Slovenia and Norway also declined the invitation, according to local news.

The Peace Board was approved by the United Nations Security Council in November last year. It was originally established to oversee the reconstruction of Gaza, but now has a much broader mandate, including promoting global stability and conflict resolution around the world.

Israel was not represented at the signing event, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will also attendAccording to reports.

Asked about the peace board on Wednesday, Palestinian National Authority Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa said: “We want to work with the Peace Board, the board and the committee to ensure that they do their part.”

“But we also want to see our government institutions continue to prepare for reconstruction,” he said during a WEF event in Davos.

Last week White House confirms establishment of “Board”“To realize the vision of the Peace Council.”

These are the members of the Executive Board.

• Marco Rubio, US Secretary of State
• Steve Witkoff, US Special Representative for the Middle East
• Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner
• Sir Tony Blair, former British prime minister
• Marc Rowan, CEO of Apollo
• Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank
• Robert Gabriel, security consultant

— CNBC’s Holly Ellyatt and Sam Meredith contributed to this report.