India among those absent at signing ceremony of Trump's 'Board of Peace'

India was among the countries which were not present when US President Donald Trump unveiled his "Board of Peace" in Davos on Thursday that seeks to work towards bringing lasting peace to Gaza and possibly resolve global conflicts.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among numerous global leaders that the US President has invited to join the board that was announced under the second phase of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza strip.

France, the United Kingdom, China, Germany and many other leading nations also skipped the signing ceremony for Trump's "Board of Peace". Trump hosted the ceremony on the margins of annual World Economic Forum in the Swiss mountain resort.

India is yet to take a call on it, people familiar with the matter said when asked about Trump's invite to PM Modi. New Delhi is considering various aspects as the initiative involves sensitive issues, it is learnt.

India has been pushing for a "two-State solution" to the Palestine question with Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security within recognised borders.

The countries that joined the Board of Peace included Argentina Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Egypt, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam.

A number of countries including Germany, Italy, Paraguay, Russia, Slovenia, Turkiye, and Ukraine have remained non-committal on the invitation.

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 could throw a challenge to the United Nations.

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.

However, the "charter" of the board says 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".

It also says 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.

Washington 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 it be redeveloped for the benefit of the people of the strip.

The White House last week announced forming a founding executive board to operationalize 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 National Committee for the Administration of Gaza.