26 countries, including Pakistan, named founding members of Trump-led ‘Board of Peace’

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Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and others pose with US President Donald Trump signing the founding charter at the “Board of Peace” meeting during the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland on January 22. — AFP
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and others pose with US President Donald Trump signing the founding charter at the “Board of Peace” meeting during the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland on January 22. — AFP

United States President Donald Trump’s newly formed “Board of Peace” on Wednesday announced 26 countries designated as founding members of the initiative, including Pakistan.

A week after Trump formally introduced the initiative at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the body launched an official account on the social media platform X.

A post on Wednesday said that the Board “welcomes Pakistan as a founding member of our growing international organisation”.

The list of founding members also includes Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Albania, Bahrain, Belarus, Bulgaria, Cambodia, El Salvador, Egypt, Hungary, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Mongolia, Morocco, Paraguay, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam, spanning the Middle East, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caucasus.

Notably absent from the list are major European countries such as France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, amid sharp disagreements with Trump on issues including Greenland and tariff policies, which have strained relations between Washington and several European capitals.

Ukraine questioned how it could participate alongside Russia and Belarus.

Belarus accepted the invitation to join, while Russia was not included in the board, despite President Vladimir Putin saying Moscow was ready to allocate $1 billion from Russian assets frozen by the previous US administration to the body’s budget.

Trump rescinded Canada’s invitation, citing Prime Minister Mark Carney’s speech at the World Economic Forum, in which he warned against economic coercion by major powers.

Trump announced the establishment of the Board of Peace on January 15 as part of his broader plan for Gaza, under which the ceasefire agreement was reached. The board was authorised by UN Security Council Resolution 2803 in November 2025.

The board was originally conceived to oversee the ceasefire and reconstruction of Gaza, but its charter expands its mandate to peace-building in all areas affected by or at risk of conflict.

Further details on the board’s mandate, leadership structure, and timeline for implementation have yet to be formally announced.

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