New Delhi: India has still not taken a final decision about joining US president Donald Trump’s Board of Peace for the Gaza Strip, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) indicated on Thursday.
While Trump has invited India to the board, it is still not clear whether it would attend the first proposed meeting, scheduled for February 19.
“As far as the Board of Peace is concerned, we have received an invitation from the US government to join the Board of Peace. We are currently considering this proposal and reviewing it,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing.
India has consistently supported efforts that promote peace, stability, and dialogue in West Asia but stopped short of committing to the US-led initiative, Jaiswal reiterated, as reported by NDTV.
“Our prime minister (Narendra Modi) has also welcomed all such initiatives that pave the way for long-term and lasting peace in the entire region, including Gaza. So, with regard to the invitation to join the Board of Peace, we are presently reviewing it,” he said.
Trump had launched the Board of Peace at Davos last month, outlining a US-backed effort to lock in peace, open crossings, demilitarise armed groups, and begin a long-term reconstruction and economic revival in Gaza. The launch followed the signing of the Board of Peace charter.
In mid-November, a UN Security Council resolution, had authorised the board and countries working with it to establish an international stabilisation force in Gaza, where a fragile ceasefire began in October under a Trump plan on which Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas signed off.
The board was meant to supervise Gaza’s temporary governance. Trump thereafter said the board, with him as chair, would be expanded to tackle global conflicts.
The US has extended invitations to around 60 countries to join the boards, as per media reports, and around 27 nations, including Azerbaijan, Belarus, Egypt, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Jordan, Morocco, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the UAE, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam, have agreed to join the initiative.
Several Western democracies, including France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Spain, have opted not to take part though.
The board will hold its first meeting on February 19 in Washington to discuss Gaza’s reconstruction.
