Gaza City: Trump’s $1bn fee for permanent membership of his ‘Board of Peace’ faces setback

*United States President Donald Trump administration’s proposal, asking countries to pay $1 billion for a permanent spot on his ‘Board of Peace’ is currently facing backlash from Canada and France, just as Israel has objected to the line-up of a so-called ‘Gaza Executive Board’ to operate under the body

Gbenga Kayode | ConsumerConnect

United States (US) President Donald Trump’s administration proposal asking countries to pay $1 billion for a permanent spot on his “Board of Peace” is currently facing backlash from Canada, France, and a number of 58 other invited countries.

Trump’s Board of Peace was established to appropriate resources towards resolving conflicts, especially in the war-torn Gaza City, according to US media reports.

Connectivity: NCC unveils Spectrum Roadmap 2026–2030, pledges improved QoS, transparent regulation

Speaking on the development, Canadian Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne Tuesday, January 20, said that Ottawa did not plan to pay the $1-billion US price tag for a permanent seat on US President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” that will oversee the governance and reconstruction of Gaza.

“There [are] a lot of details to be worked out, but one thing which is clear is that Canada is not going to pay if we were to join the Board of Peace,” Champagne told reporters Tuesday morning on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF), in Davos, Switzerland.

Champagne’s comments come after Prime Minister Mark Carney — one of the 60 world leaders asked to join the board — accepted the invitation, though on Sunday said his officials hadn’t gone through “all the details of the structure, how it’s going to work, what the financing is for, etcetera.”

Earlier, the White House, in Washington, had asked various world leaders to sit on the board, chaired by Trump himself, including 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 amount.

The Board’s draft charter stated: “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.

“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.

However, 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,” noted the Board’s charter.

‘Failed institutions’

The document was sent to dozens of world leaders who were invited to join the board, the Times of Israel reported.

It appears to take a swipe at international institutions, such as the United Nations (UN).

It is noted the board should have “the courage to depart from approaches and institutions that have too often failed”, indirectly referring to the UN, and others.

Since his first term in office as President, Trump regularly, has continued to criticise the United Nations.

He equally announced January 2026, that the United States would withdraw from 66 global organisations and treaties — roughly half affiliated with the UN.

Membership of the board would be “limited to States invited to participate by the Chairman”, according to the full draft charter published by the Times of Israel.

Trump would have the power to remove member states from the board, subject to a veto by two-third of members, and choose his replacement should he leave his role as chairman.

The “Board of Peace” began to take shape on Saturday as the leaders of Egypt, Turkey, Argentina and Canada were asked to join.

Trump also named his Secretary of State Marco Rubio, former British prime minister Tony Blair, and senior negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff as members.

Israel has objected to the line-up of a “Gaza executive board” to operate under the body, which includes Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Qatari diplomat Ali Al-Thawadi.

Kindly Share This Story