 "US President Donald Trump with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. File image/AP")
As US President Donald Trump unveiled his “Board of Peace” at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday, India was notably absent from the stage, even as Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif attended the signing ceremony.
According to a Times of India report, New Delhi had received an invitation to join the initiative on Sunday but has so far neither officially accepted nor rejected the offer.
Trump had invited India to be part of the “Board of Peace”, according to a White House statement that was shared on X by Washington’s ambassador to New Delhi, Sergio Gor.
In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Trump wrote, “It is my great honour to invite you, as Prime Minister of the Republic of India, to join me in a critically historic and magnificent effort to solidify peace in the Middle East and, at the same time, to embark on a bold new approach to resolving global conflict!”
The countries represented on the ‘Board of Peace’ include Bahrain, Morocco, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Hungary, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Pakistan, Paraguay, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the UAE, Uzbekistan and Mongolia.
The number of participants was lower than what US officials had earlier indicated.
A senior Trump administration official had said earlier in the week that around 35 countries were expected to attend the launch.
Several Western European nations stayed away from the initiative, with some expressing reservations about the concept of a peace board that could include countries such as Russia, which is currently at war with one of their allies.
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View AllUnveiling the “Board of Peace” at Davos, Trump said the initiative was aimed at helping resolve international conflicts and claimed that “everybody” wanted to be part of it.
He also said the United States would continue to work with other international bodies, including the United Nations.
With inputs from agencies