Nicosia, Cyprus. President Nikos Christodoulides has been invited to join the Gaza Board of Peace, according to reports on Saturday. The Cyprus News Agency said Christodoulides received a letter from United States President Donald Trump and that Cyprus will be among the board’s 25 founding states.
White House announcement and founding executive board
The reports followed a White House announcement earlier in the day on the creation of the Board of Peace. The White House named US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son in law Jared Kushner, former British Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair, and World Bank president Ajay Banga among seven members of its founding executive board.
It said each executive board member will oversee a defined portfolio critical to Gaza’s stabilisation and long-term success, including governance capacity-building, regional relations, reconstruction, investment attraction, large-scale funding, and capital mobilisation.
High representative for Gaza and governance link
Bulgarian diplomat Nickolay Mladenov, a former UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, was named the board’s high representative for Gaza.
The White House said Mladenov will act as the on-the-ground link between the Board of Peace and a new national committee for the administration of Gaza, described as the Palestinian-run arm of the new system of governance in Gaza, led by civil engineer Ali Shaath.
Gaza executive board and membership
The White House also said it created a Gaza executive board, separate from the founding executive board, to support effective governance and the delivery of services intended to advance peace, stability, and prosperity for the people of Gaza.
Witkoff, Kushner, Blair, and Mladenov are also members of this board, along with others including incumbent UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process Sigrid Kaag and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
Other reported invitations and Cyprus response
Earlier in the day, Turkey’s presidential communications director Burhanettin Duran said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had been invited to be a founding member of the Board of Peace. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Argentine President Javier Milei also said they had been invited.
Cyprus’ foreign ministry said the government will continue actively complementing efforts, in cooperation with international and regional partners, toward sustainable peace and security following the initial announcement of the board’s creation.
What do you think Cyprus’ role could be as a founding state of the Gaza Board of Peace?
