Leaders and dignitaries from more than 20 countries will attend tomorrow the first meeting of the Peace Board initiated by the President of the United States, Donald Trump, to solve world conflicts, starting with that of Gaza, confirmed this Wednesday the White House. "I do not believe that peace should be partisan, political or controversial," he said. The statute of the entity grants broad powers to its president, in this case Trump, such as the right of veto or setting the agenda, and provides for permanent mandates for the largest financial contributors. Permanent membership on the board costs $1 billion. Despite the ceasefire in the Gaza conflict reached in October as part of a plan promoted by the US president, numerous violations of the agreement continue to be reported. Other nations, such as France, Spain, and Sweden, have refused to join. The presidents of Argentina, Javier Milei, and of Paraguay, Santiago Peña, announced they will travel to Washington to participate in the meeting. Also confirmed their attendance the Indonesian leader, Prabowo Subianto, and the leaders of Cambodia, Hun Manet; and of Vietnam, To Lam. The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, will not be present in the US capital and will instead send his Foreign Minister, Gideon Saar. Mexico, Romania, Italy, and the Czech Republic will participate as observers, as well as the European Commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Suica. This Monday, Trump said that the Peace Board will work with the "in some cases" United Nations, and reiterated that the entity will go "beyond Gaza", focusing on "peace throughout the world". The Republican has highlighted the "unlimited potential" of the organization, created initially to oversee the peace plan in the Palestinian enclave after the end of the conflict between Israel and Hamas and which was later expanded with the objective of promoting the resolution of other international conflicts. Most of the founding members are Trump allies and had already expressed their support, while the great powers and almost all European countries have shown reluctance to join, considering that the Board weakens the UN. The White House Press Secretary described these criticisms as "deeply regrettable" this Wednesday. "I know there is a lot of interest," she explained. The White House spokesperson reiterated that Trump will announce the commitment of more than $5,000 million from the Peace Board members for "humanitarian and reconstruction efforts in Gaza", as the president himself had advanced over the weekend on his Truth Social platform. The entity will also send "thousands of troops to the international stabilization force and to the local police to maintain the security and peace of the inhabitants of Gaza," added Leavitt. At least 35 heads of state and government have agreed to join the Board. Among the 26 founding countries, according to the official account of the entity on X, are Israel, Argentina, El Salvador, Paraguay, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. "The president will inaugurate the meeting tomorrow with a speech and, in some way, will formally preside over the beginning of the meeting before departing for the state of Georgia," said the Press Secretary of the Administration, Karoline Leavitt, at a press conference. Leavitt indicated that they will soon announce the official list of participants for the event, to be held at the Washington Institute for Peace, recently renamed after the Republican. "I know that there are more than 20 countries."
