UAE president accepts US invitation to join ‘Board of Peace’

DUBAI (AFP): The UAE’s president has accepted an invitation to join US President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace”, the foreign ministry said Tuesday, the body meant to oversee post-war reconstruction in Gaza.

The positive response comes amid controversy over the body, with Washington asking various leaders to sit on the Trump-chaired board on which a permanent seat costs $1.0 billion.

Although originally meant to oversee Gaza’s rebuilding, its charter does not seem to limit its role to the Strip, and appears to want to rival the United Nations.

“Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, has accepted the invitation from the United States to join the Board of Peace,” the ministry said in a statement.

The move comes amid tensions between the United States’ top Arab allies the UAE and Saudi Arabia, both of which have sought to curry favour with the Trump administration with pledges of investment and business deals.

The board’s charter, seen by AFP, says that member countries will serve no longer than three years, subject to renewal by the chairman.

However, the three-year restriction does not apply if they “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”.

Emirati Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed said “the UAE’s decision reflects the importance of fully implementing President Donald J Trump’s 20-point peace plan for Gaza, which is critical for the realization of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people”.

The oil-rich UAE is a top US ally in the region and one of the few Arab nations with official ties to Israel after signing the Abraham Accords during Trump’s first term in 2020.

Abu Dhabi has faced a backlash in the Arab world over its Israel ties, especially since the Gaza war and its humanitarian consequences for Palestinians in the enclave.

But the UAE has continued to provide aid to the Gaza Strip, including with air drops when Israel limited land entry during the war.

The UAE also has a state minister, Reem Al Hashimy, sitting on a subcommittee of the board.

The board is a key phase two element of a US-backed peace plan to end the war in Gaza, which came into force on October 10 last year.