U.S. President Donald Trump was surrounded by world leaders as he declared the war in Gaza was “really coming to an end” at a signing ceremony for his “Board of Peace” for the territory.
But many countries are not represented, and Trump singled out Spain for criticism on its defense spending from the podium, saying “They want a free ride.”
The United Arab Emirates, Hungary and Pakistan were represented at the ceremony at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday. The board is intended to oversee the reconstruction of Gaza.
This is who is on the board and participated in the signing event.
Isa bin Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, minister of the prime minister’s court, Bahrain
Nasser Bourita, minister of foreign affairs, Morocco
Javier Milei, president, Argentina
Nikol Pashinyan, prime minister, Armenia
Ilham Aliyev, President, Azerbaijan
Rosen Zhelyazkov, prime minister, Bulgaria
Viktor Orban, prime minister, Hungary 
Prabowo Subianto, president, Indonesia
Ayman Al Safadi, minister of foreign affairs, Jordan
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, president, Kazakhstan
Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu, president, Kosovo
Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, prime minister, Pakistan
Santiago Peña, president, Paraguay
Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, president, Qatar
Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, minister of foreign affairs, Saudi Arabia
Hakan Fidan, minister of foreign affairs, Turkey
Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, special envoy to the U.S. for the UAE
Shavkat Mirziyoyev, president, Uzbekistan
Gombojavyn Zandanshatar, prime minister, Mongolia
A long list of countries, including Canada, France, Germany, Italy and other European nations, were absent from the signing, and some have specifically rejected the invitation.
UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told the BBC on Thursday that it “won’t be one of the signatories today,” citing concerns over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invitation to join.
Spain did not send a representative to the signing, with an invitation for Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to join “under review,” according to Spanish media.
Putin received an invitation to join Trump’s peace group on Monday and was “studying all the details of this proposal,” Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, but no representative was present at the signing event on Thursday.
In an interview with CNBC on Wednesday, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said the U.S. administration would meet Putin about joining the Board of Peace. “We have to go meet him on Thursday. But it’s the Russians who are asking for that meeting,” Witkoff said.
France reportedly turned the invitation down to join the board, as did Germany, per a Spiegel report citing a Foreign Ministry document. “We need more time,” Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told state broadcaster RAI on Wednesday. “There is work that needs to be done. However, my position certainly remains one of openness,” she said, according to a Reuters report.
Belgium has not signed up either, its foreign minister, Maxime Prevot, said in a statement posted on X Thursday. “We wish for a common and coordinated European response. As many European countries, we have reservations to the proposal,” she said.
Sweden, Slovenia and Norway also turned the invitation down, according to local news reports.
The Board of Peace was endorsed by the United Nations Security Council in November last year. It was originally established to oversee the rebuilding of Gaza, but now has a far broader mandate, including promoting global stability and conflict resolution around the world.
Israel was not represented at the signing event, but its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will join, according to reports.
When asked about the board of peace on Wednesday, Mohammed Mustafa, the Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority, said: “We want to work with the Board of Peace, with the executive board and with the committee, to ensure that they do their part of things.”
“But we also want to see our government institutions to continue to … prepare for a reconstruction effort,” he said during a WEF event at Davos.
Last week the White House confirmed a founding “Executive Board,” to “operationalize the Board of Peace’s vision.”
These are the members of the Executive Board.
Marco Rubio, U.S. Secretary of State
Steve Witkoff, U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East
Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law
Sir Tony Blair, former U.K. prime minister
Marc Rowan, CEO, Apollo
Ajay Banga, World Bank president
Robert Gabriel, security advisor
— CNBC’s Holly Ellyatt and Sam Meredith contributed to this report.

Published Date:2026-01-23