(AFP) – The presidents of Argentina and Romania said Sunday they have been invited to attend the inaugural meeting of US President Donald Trump’s controversial “Board of Peace” in Washington on February 19. Originally designed by Trump as a mechanism to oversee the Gaza truce and post-war reconstruction, the board’s mandate has since expanded, prompting concerns among critics that it could evolve into a rival to the United Nations.
Writing on his Facebook page, Romania’s President Nicusor said his country had not yet made a decision as to whether it would participate. That would depend, he said, “on discussions with our US partners on the format of the meeting for countries like Romania, which are not currently members of the Board but which wish to be part of it on condition its charter is revised”.
Argentina’s Javier Milei said he would attend the event, while skipping a gala that will be held at Trump’s residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, on Monday, which he had been planning to attend, his Chief of Staff Manuel Adorni announced on Sunday.
On Saturday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that he, too, had received an invitation to attend the meeting, and that he intended to go. The White House has not responded to an AFP request for comment.
Trump launched his “Board of Peace” at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, and some 19 countries have signed its founding charter. But it has since taken shape as a vehicle for Trump’s broader ambitions, with critics calling it another effort by the Republican president to bypass the UN as he seeks to reset the global order.
Dozens of world leaders have received invitations to be part of the “Board of Peace”. Permanent members must pay $1 billion to join. Some countries — including Croatia, France, Italy, 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. Under its current charter, the “Board of Peace” has Trump both as its chairman and as the US representative. It says Trump, as chairman, will have “exclusive authority to create, modify or dissolve entities as necessary” and that he can only be replaced in case of “voluntary resignation or as a result of incapacity”.
– Maria DANILOVA
© 2024 AFP
