News Desk
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump’s government has asked countries to pay $1 billion for a permanent spot on his “Board of Peace” aimed at resolving conflicts, according to US media reports.
The White House has asked various world leaders to sit on the board, chaired by Trump himself, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Hungarian Premier Viktor Orban and Canada’s Mark Carney.
Member countries — represented on the board by their head of state — would be allowed to join for three years, or longer if they contributed more than $1 billion within the first year, according to Bloomberg, which first reported the sum.
“Each member state shall serve a term of no more than three years from this charter’s entry into force, subject to renewal by the chairman,” stated the board’s draft charter obtained by Bloomberg and other media.
“The three-year membership term shall not apply to member states that contribute more than USD $1,000,000,000 in cash funds to the Board of Peace within the first year of the Charter’s entry into force.”
The board was originally conceived to oversee the rebuilding of Gaza, but its charter, widely cited by US media, does not appear to limit its role to the Palestinian territory.
The White House said there would be a main board, a Palestinian committee of technocrats meant to govern the war-wracked territory, and a second “executive board” that appears designed to have a more advisory role.
“The Board of Peace 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,” the charter says.
