France rejected Donald Trump’s invitation to join Board of Peace, but UAE, Argentina accepted it. Will Singapore say yes?

SINGAPORE: On Tuesday (Jan 20), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the government of Singapore received an invitation from the United States to join the Board of Peace, first mentioned by US President Donald Trump.

The government “is currently assessing the invitation,” a spokesperson from the MFA said.

While Mr Trump first mentioned the Board of Peace last September in the context of Israel’s war on Gaza, official invitations to dozens of countries were only sent in the past few days.

In November, the UN Security Council endorsed the US-backed plan to end the conflict in Gaza and welcomed the establishment of the Board of Peace.

Since then, however, concerns have been raised that the Board’s reach would expand beyond Gaza and that it might undermine the authority of the United Nations.

The first meeting of the board has reportedly been set for Thursday (Jan 22), on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, giving countries little time to announce their decisions.

According to the Board’s charter, it 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.”

Mr Trump has said he will lead the Board for life.

Bloomberg reported that among the countries that have been invited are Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belarus, Brazil, Canada, China, Cyprus, Egypt, European Commission, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

Membership on the Board may only be achieved through invitation from the US, and each member state is to serve a term of no more than three years.

Moreover, states wishing for permanent membership must contribute more than US$1 billion in cash to the Board of Peace within the first year, AFP reported.

The Board’s key figures include US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Mr Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.

A number of countries have already accepted the invitation to join the Board of Peace, including Argentina, Hungary, Vietnam, and the United Arab Emirates.

Canada is said to have agreed “in principle” but said it will not pay for membership, while France is the first country that has refused outright. The refusal led Mr Trump to threaten to impose 200 per cent tariffs on French wines.

Reports say that European Union nations are expected to similarly decline Mr Trump’s invitation. Given the current tensions on the continent over the US President’s intentions toward Greenland, this hardly comes as a surprise.

Whether Singapore will join the Board of Peace remains to be seen. /TISG

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