DAVOS, Switzerland — U.S. President Donald Trump’s controversial Board of Peace drew fresh commitments from Gulf partners and other Muslim-majority countries while France, Sweden and Norway moved to stay out, sharpening a split among U.S. allies as the United Nations keeps the board’s formal authority limited to Gaza. The widening roster comes as Trump prepares a signing ceremony for invited leaders and envoys at the World Economic Forum, Jan. 22, 2026.
Board of Peace adds Gulf support, but Europe stays wary
Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates said they would join the Board of Peace as part of a wider group that also includes Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia and Pakistan, according to a joint statement reported by Reuters. Kuwait has also said it accepted an invitation, Reuters reported.
Trump has pitched the Board of Peace as a leader-level forum that can marshal money and political pressure more quickly than existing diplomatic channels. A Reuters explainer on the Board of Peace said member states would typically serve three-year terms unless they pay $1 billion for permanent membership, based on a draft charter reviewed by the news agency.
But the same charter has become a central point of pushback in Europe. Norway and Sweden have declined Trump’s invitation, and France also intends to say no, Reuters reported. In comments carried by Reuters reporting from Davos, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the charter was “incompatible” with France’s international commitments, particularly its U.N. membership.
Several countries have not taken a public stance. An Associated Press rundown of invitees and responses listed a mix of governments that have accepted, declined or remained noncommittal as invitations spread beyond the board’s original Gaza focus.
U.N. keeps the Gaza-only lane
The Board of Peace’s ambitions now extend beyond Gaza, but the U.N. mandate does not. Reuters reported the U.N. Security Council authorized the Board of Peace only through 2027 and only for Gaza, requiring regular reporting to the council and leaving unclear what legal authority it would have elsewhere.
That limited authorization traces back to Resolution 2803, adopted in November with 13 votes in favor and abstentions by Russia and China, according to a U.N. Geneva summary of the vote. The resolution welcomed a Board of Peace “as a transitional administration” for Gaza and authorized it to establish a temporary International Stabilization Force in the territory, the U.N. said.
The board’s evolution has been rapid. Trump first floated the Board of Peace as part of a 20-point Gaza plan in September 2025, envisioning an international oversight body alongside a technocratic Palestinian committee, according to Reuters’ Sept. 29 outline of that proposal. In a later analysis, Chatham House warned that the plan’s legitimacy could be strained by questions over who selects board members and how much local Palestinian ownership the arrangement would have.
For now, the Board of Peace is expanding faster than its internationally recognized remit. The immediate test, diplomats say, will be whether the board can deliver tangible results in Gaza under its U.N.-backed mandate — without deepening a broader fight over whether it complements, competes with or ultimately bypasses the U.N. system.
