President Trump invites PM Modi to join 'Board of Peace' for Gaza transition

New Delhi, Jan 18 (PTI) US President Donald Trump on Sunday invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be part of the "Board of Peace" that will work towards bringing lasting peace to Gaza and embark on a "bold new approach" to resolve "global conflict".

Trump sent a letter to Modi that was shared on social media by the US Ambassador to India, Sergio Gor.

The president said it was his great honour to invite the prime minister to join him in a "critically historic and magnificent effort to solidify peace" in the Middle East and, at the same time, to embark on a "bold new approach to resolving Global Conflict".

The US president unveiled the board as part of the second phase of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

In October, Israel and militant group Hamas agreed to Trump's peace plan.

Trump has sent similar letters to several global leaders.

Trump's "Board of Peace" is being projected by Washington as a new international body to usher in peace and stability in Gaza and beyond, triggering speculations that it may respond to other global conflicts as well.

Originally, the new body was to be tasked to oversee governance and coordinate funding for Gaza's redevelopment as the strip was devastated during the two years of Israeli military offensive.

In a post on X, Gor said he was honoured to convey Trump's invitation to Modi to participate in the Board of Peace, which will "bring lasting peace to Gaza".

"The Board will support effective governance to achieve stability and prosperity," the envoy said.

In his letter to Modi, Trump mentioned his September 29 announcement about a comprehensive plan to end the Gaza conflict, as well as his 20-point roadmap to bring peace to the Middle East.

The US president noted that the United Nations Security Council overwhelmingly adopted Resolution 2803, welcoming and endorsing "this vision".

"Now it is time to turn all of these Dreams into reality. At the heart of the Plan is The Board of Peace, the most impressive and consequential Board ever assembled, which will be established as a new International Organization and Transitional Governing Administration," Trump wrote.

The US president said the effort will be to bring together a "distinguished group of nations" ready to shoulder the "noble responsibility" of building lasting peace -- "an honor reserved for those prepared to lead by example, and brilliantly invest in a secure and prosperous future for generations to come." "We will convene our wonderful and committed partners, most of whom are Highly Respected World Leaders, in the near future," Trump said.

The Financial Times, quoting from the "charter" of the board, said it is "an international organisation that seeks to promote stability, restore dependable and lawful governance, and secure enduring peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict." "Durable peace requires pragmatic judgment, common sense solutions, and the courage to depart from approaches and institutions that have too often failed." The top level of the board will consist "exclusively" of heads of state under Trump's leadership, the newspaper quoted a White House official as saying.

The Trump administration has already announced that the Board of Peace will play an essential role in fulfilling Trump's 20-point plan of providing strategic oversight, mobilising international resources, and ensuring accountability as "Gaza transitions from conflict to peace and development".

The 20-point plan includes making Gaza a deradicalised terror-free zone that does not pose a threat to its neighbours, and that is redeveloped for the benefit of the people of the strip.

The White House last week announced forming a founding executive board to operationalise the Board of Peace's vision.

The members of the executive committee included US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, former British prime minister Tony Blair, US special envoy to the Middle-East Steve Witkoff, businessman and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and World Bank president Ajay Banga.

The other two members of the committee are Marc Rowan, the CEO of New York-headquartered private equity firm Apollo Global Management, and Robert Gabriel, a US national security adviser.

The executive board will oversee another administrative group called the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG). PTI MPB VN VN