President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan will visit Davos, Switzerland on Thursday for the signing ceremony of the “Board of Peace,” an international mechanism set up by U.S. President Donald Trump to help rebuild war-torn Gaza and possibly address other conflicts in the world.
Tokayev will attend the board’s signing ceremony at Trump’s invitation, Kazakhstan’s presidential press office said on Wednesday.
The ceremony will occur during the annual World Economic Forum meeting in the mountain resort of Davos, where national leaders, business executives and other influential people gather to discuss global issues. This year’s event comes amid a widening rift between the United States and its traditional allies in Europe over U.S. plans to take over Greenland as well as the prospect of more trade tension between the two sides.
Trump is the inaugural chairman of the Board of Peace, and he has invited dozens of countries to join. Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are among a number of countries that have agreed to do so, while others have expressed caution about the initiative, partly because they believe it could undermine the United Nations.
Another concern about U.S. intentions is that countries seeking permanent membership on the board have to pay more than $1 billion, according to the board’s charter text, which was published by The Times of Israel.
Uzbekistan is ready to join the Board of Peace as a “founding state,” said Sherzod Asadov, press secretary to President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
Mirziyoyev “noted that this initiative is seen as an important step in resolving long-standing conflicts in the Middle East and ensuring peace and stability in the vast region,” Asadov said this week.
