Board of Peace: India attends as observer nation; Trump says 200% tariff threat stopped India, Pakistan conflict

India joined the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace for Gaza on February 19 as an observer nation. During the meeting US President Donald Trump said that he had threatened a 200 per cent tariff threat on India and Pakistan to get the nations to stop the conflict. 

"That war was raging. Planes were being shot down. And I got on the phone with both of them, and I knew them a little bit. I knew Prime Minister Modi very well...I called them, and I said, listen, I'm not doing trade deals with you two guys if you don't settle this up," Trump said.

"And all of a sudden, we worked out a deal. I said, if you fight, I'm going to put 200 per cent tariffs on each of your countries. They both wanted to fight. But when it comes to money, it's nothing like money. When it came to losing a lot of money, they said, ‘I guess we don't want to fight’...11 jets were shot down. Very expensive jets," he added.

OBSERVER NATION

Meanwhile, India joined the meeting as an observer nation, and has yet not joined the board set up by Trump for the redevelopment of the Gaza Strip. India was represented by Chargé d'affaires at the Indian Embassy in Washington DC Namgya Khampa.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the long list of global leaders who were invited to join the board under the second phase of Trump’s peace plan. However, India had not attended the January 22 ceremony in Davos, where Trump had unveiled the Board of Peace.

Nations that did not attend received an ominous warning from Trump: "You can't play cute with me.”

Trump has envisioned the Board of Peace as a rival to the UN. He had previously stated that the Board of Peace might replace the UN, which has never lived up to its potential. 

BOARD OF PEACE CONTRIBUTIONS

Several foreign dignitaries attending the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace for Gaza made significant offers of aid, including financial pledges, military support, and technical assistance. 

The United States has committed the largest financial contribution, with President Donald Trump pledging $10 billion to border peace. The United Arab Emirates, represented by Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan, pledged $1.2 billion. Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and Saudi Arabia, through Minister Adel Al-Jubeir, each pledged $1 billion to the Board of Peace.

Kuwait also announced a $1 billion contribution. Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto, stated that the country is ready to contribute 8,000 or more troops to an international security force for Gaza. 

Nations like Turkey, Kazakhstan, Bahrain, Uzbekistan, Egypt, Romania, Morocco pledged contributions to health and education sectors, military, financial and humanitarian aid, childcare facilities, law and justice systems.