PM Shehbaz signs ‘Board of Peace’ charter at Davos ceremony led by US President Trump

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Thursday signed the charter of the “Board of Peace” during a high-level ceremony in Davos, Switzerland, chaired by United States President Donald Trump.

The Board of Peace was initially conceived as a forum to address Israel’s war on Gaza, though its charter does not limit the body’s mandate to the occupied Palestinian territory alone. Pakistan formally accepted President Trump’s invitation to join the initiative a day earlier.

Following an address by the US president, heads of state and government took turns to sign the charter. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, also spoke at the event.

President Trump described the signatories as his friends and said several countries had shown interest in joining the board. He noted that invitations were sent out recently and that leaders present in Davos were able to sign the charter during the meeting.

Referring to the participants, Trump said the leaders present were “truly honoured” guests, describing most of them as popular leaders while remarking that some were “not so popular.” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was among those seated in the audience during the address.

During his speech, President Trump also spoke at length about Gaza, stating that Hamas must disarm under the ceasefire agreement or face severe consequences. He reiterated the US commitment to ensuring that Gaza is demilitarised, properly governed, and rebuilt, adding that the Board of Peace could later expand its focus to other regions.

Trump said the Board of Peace would work in coordination with the United Nations, calling the potential partnership “very unique for the world.” He recalled that during the first phase of the ceasefire plan, efforts were made to maintain the truce in Gaza and deliver humanitarian assistance, while also highlighting the release of Israeli captives.

The US president said he believed the initiative marked the beginning of a new phase for the Middle East and expressed confidence that it could help end decades of conflict and suffering in the region and beyond.

"This is the greatest board ever assembled," Trump, who is the chairman of the board, told reporters including AFP on Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort.

"Yeah, I have some controversial people on it but these are people who get the job done, these are people who have tremendous influence."

Originally meant to oversee the rebuilding of Gaza after the war between Hamas and Israel, the board's charter does not limit its role to the Strip, and has sparked concerns that Trump wants it to rival the United Nations.

"It's going to get a lot of work done that the United Nations should have done," added Trump.

The launch of the board comes against the backdrop of Trump's frustration at having failed to win the Nobel Peace Prize, despite his disputed claim to have ended eight conflicts.

UK, France snub signing

Key US allies including France and Britain have expressed skepticism, with the UK saying Thursday it would not attend the ceremony.

The members on stage largely held close ties to Trump, including Hungary's Viktor Orban and Argentina's Javier Milei, or a wish to show their allegiance to the US president.

Officials from Bahrain, Morocco, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Pakistan, Paraguay, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Mongolia also signed the document with Trump.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces an International Criminal Court arrest warrant over the war in Gaza, has said he will join but was not at the ceremony.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the ceremony that the board's focus was "first and foremost on making sure that this peace deal in Gaza becomes enduring."

Trump however said Hamas to disarm under the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire accord or it will be the "end of them."

The launch of the board comes against the backdrop of Trump's frustration at having failed to win the Nobel Peace Prize, despite his disputed claim to have ended eight conflicts.

Trump to meet Zelensky

The inclusion of Putin has caused particular concern among US allies, but especially in Ukraine as it seeks an end to Moscow's nearly four-year-old invasion.

Trump will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Davos after the "Board of Peace" ceremony to discuss a ceasefire in Ukraine -- the major peace deal that continues to elude him.

Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff, who is due to travel to Moscow to meet Putin later Thursday, said in Davos that talks to end the war had made a "lot of progress" and were down to one issue.

"I think we've got it down to one issue, and we have discussed iterations of that issue, and that means it's solvable," said Witkoff, without saying what the issue was.

Witkoff added that he and the US leader's son-in-law Jared Kushner would not stay in Moscow overnight but fly straight to Abu Dhabi for "military to military" talks.

Zelensky has meanwhile voiced fears that Trump's push to seize Greenland -- which has dominated Davos so far and threatened to unravel the transatlantic alliance -- could divert focus away from Russia's invasion of his country.

Trump, however, said late Wednesday he had reached a "framework of a future deal" after meeting NATO chief Mark Rutte, and that he would therefore waive tariffs scheduled to hit European allies on February 1.

He gave no further details, leaving Europeans drawing only cautious sighs of relief. A source close to the talks told AFP that a 1951 Greenland defence pact would be renegotiated as part of the deal.

- Gaza 'master plan' -

Gaza's newly appointed administrator said in a video message that the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip will reopen in both directions next week.

Then Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, like the president a former property developer, showed slides of what he billed a "master plan" for its reconstruction.

The slides included maps of new settlements in the Gaza Strip and artist renderings of gleaming seafront hotels and apartments under the caption "New Gaza".

"It could be a hope. It could be a destination," Kushner said.

Trump however told Hamas to disarm under the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire accord or it would be the "end of them". He added that he was ready to "talk" with regional foe Iran.

With inputs from AFP