• Israel minister Saar to participate instead of Netanyahu; Italy to be there as observer
• Trump urges Hamas to move forward with disarmament

TIRANA: Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama will travel to Washington next week to join the first meeting of US President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace”, he told a podcast on Sunday.

“I will be in Washington for the official creation of the peace council and the launch of the activities of this council,” Rama said in an interview with Albanian podcast Flasim.

The board, of which Trump is the chairman, was originally intended to oversee the rebuilding of the Gaza Strip after two years of the Israel-Hamas war, but its charter appears to extend beyond the Palestinian territory.

The first meeting is scheduled to take place on February 19 in Washington.

Permanent members of the “Board of Peace” must pay $1 billion to join, leading to criticisms that the board could become a “pay-to-play” version of the UN Security Council.

Trump launched his “Board of Peace” at the WEF in January, and at least 19 countries have signed its founding charter.

Some countries — including Croatia, France, New Zealand and Norway — have already declined to join it, and others have said they could only consider doing so if its charter were changed.

Rama has previously said his country would not pay to be permanent members of the initiative.

“Albania has the privilege of being a founding state, and it will not contribute financially to join or remain as a permanent member,” Rama said on Sunday.

Romanian President Nicusor Dan also announced on Sunday that he would attend as observer the first meeting of US president’s “Board of Peace”.

“Next week I will take part in the first meeting of the Board of Peace in Washington, responding to the invitation addressed by the President of the United States of America, Donald Trump,” Dan wrote on X.

“Romania will have observer status and I will reaffirm our strong support for international peace efforts and our willingness to participate in the reconstruction process in the Gaza Strip,” Dan added on X on Sunday.

Netanyahu won’t attend

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not attend next week’s Gaza Board of Peace summit in Washington, with Foreign Min­ister Gideon Saar set to represent the country instead, officials said.

The statement was issued as Neta­nyahu departed for the US, where he met Trump and signed on as a “Board of Peace” member.

Italy will also participate as an observer in the “Board of Peace”, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni confirmed on Sunday, Anadolu reported.

Speaking in an interview with Italian daily Corriere della Sera, Meloni said Italy had received an invitation to attend in observer status and would respond positively.

She noted that constitutional constraints prevent Italy from formally joining the body.

Meanwhile, Trump asked Hamas to move forward with disarmament under his plan for post-war Gaza, and said peace board members pledged $5bn to the Palestinian territory’s reconstruction. “Very importantly, Hamas must uphold its commitment to Full and Immediate Demilitarisation,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform, ahead of a Feb 19 meeting of the board in Washington.

He added that member states of the “Board of Peace” had “committed thousands of personnel” to join the International Stabilisation Force.

Published in Dawn, February 16th, 2026