New Delhi: India on Thursday attended the inaugural meeting of US President Donald Trump’s peace council on Gaza as an “observer” state, without joining the initiative launched by Trump to redevelop the Gaza Strip. India was represented at the meeting held at the Donald J. Trump Peace Institute in Washington DC by Chargé d’Affaires of the Indian Embassy Namjya Khamba, news agency PTI reported. Trump pledged ten billion dollars to the new “peace council,” saying that the United States would fund the initiative aimed at rebuilding Gaza, which was reduced to rubble after two years of war between Hamas and Israel. Trump will have veto power over the Peace Council and can remain its president even after leaving office, while countries seeking permanent membership instead of a two-year term will be required to pay $1 billion. Trump announced that the United States will commit $10 billion to the Council, whose membership includes 27 countries such as Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Hungary, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among several global leaders invited by the US President to join the council announced under the second phase of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. India was among the countries that did not attend the January 22 ceremony in Davos where Trump unveiled a peace council that seeks to work toward establishing lasting peace in Gaza and potentially resolving other global conflicts.
The Peace Council is seen as a rival to the United Nations. Trump had previously said that the peace council “might” replace the United Nations, which he said had never lived up to its potential. The executive board, which was finalized on January 17, consists of a mix of diplomats and financiers, including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Jared Kushner, and World Bank President Ajay Banga. While the United States has identified an initial housing and infrastructure reconstruction package worth $1 billion, financing is strictly tied to security conditions.
