Politics

On Thursday, US President Donald Trump officially launched his “Board of Peace” initiative during a signing event in Davos. He described it as “very exciting day, long in the making.” Trump mentioned that once the board is fully established, it will have the freedom to take action in collaboration with the United Nations. He expressed that the U.N. has great potential that has not been fully tapped. As the chair of the board, Trump invited many world leaders to participate, aiming to tackle issues beyond the shaky truce in Gaza. This raised concerns that the board might weaken the U.N.’s role as the primary platform for global diplomacy and conflict resolution. Major global powers and traditional allies of the U.S. have hesitated to join, with Trump stating that permanent members would need to contribute $1 billion each to fund it, leading to cautious responses or outright refusals. Representatives from the countries identified as founding members were present during Trump's address. He declared, “We’re going to have peace in the world,” and added, “And we’re all stars.” In his opening remarks, Trump reflected on the past year, saying, “Just one year ago the world was actually on fire, a lot of people didn’t know it.” However, he noted that “many good things are happening” and that global threats are “really calming down.” Standing alongside leaders from founding member nations, such as Argentinian President Javier Milei and Hungarian Premier Viktor Orbán, Trump commended his administration for “settling eight wars” and stated that “a lot of progress” has been made in addressing Russia’s war in Ukraine. He also expressed gratitude to the attending heads of state, saying, “We are truly honoured by your presence today,” and acknowledged that they are “in most cases very popular leaders, some cases not so popular.”