Photo : UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (R) welcomes his US counterpart Donald Trump at the presidential terminal in Abu Dhabi on May 15, 2025
The United Arab Emirates has accepted an invitation to join US President Donald Trump’s newly proposed “Board of Peace,” the UAE Foreign Ministry said Tuesday, placing Abu Dhabi among the first governments to publicly endorse the initiative.
The ministry said the UAE stood ready to “contribute actively to the mission of the Board of Peace, supporting greater cooperation, stability, and prosperity for all,” marking a formal alignment with Washington’s new conflict‑resolution effort.
“The UAE’s decision reflects the importance of fully implementing President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan for Gaza, which is critical for the realization of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people,” Emirati Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed said.
Abu Dhabi’s acceptance comes as governments worldwide react cautiously to Trump’s plan, which aims to begin with Gaza before widening to tackle other conflicts.
The Board of Peace was initially presented as a body that would exclusively oversee the post war management of Gaza, and, in November, the UN Security Council voted to give it a two-year mandate to do so.
But its charter, obtained by The Times of Israel earlier this week, makes no mention of Gaza and appears to take a swipe at the UN, saying that the new board should have “the courage to depart from approaches and institutions that have too often failed.”
The document was attached to invitations to join the board that were sent to dozens of world leaders on Friday, some of whom have since confirmed receiving the invitation, although few have publicly accepted it, and fewer still have declined.
Hours after Abu Dhabi said it would accept the invitation, the office of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko confirmed that he, too, would join the board of peace.
