President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace is hosting its first meeting in Washington on Feb. 19, featuring attendees representing nearly 50 nations and the European Union among the member states collaborating on the U.S.-backed effort to rebuild the Gaza Strip.

Taking place at the recently renamed U.S. Institute of Peace, it will be the group’s first official meeting after officials from two dozen of the board’s founding member states gathered onstage with Trump at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last month.

The Board of Peace is part of a multi-pronged effort, including the U.S.-launched Palestinian technocratic committee, to rebuild the Gaza Strip after last year’s cease-fire between Israel and terrorist group Hamas.

Trump’s board aims to provide oversight and mobilization of international resources during a period of transition for Gaza, particularly as the enclave is rebuilt following years of Israeli strikes that leveled entire buildings and neighborhoods.

The United Nations has said that the Gaza Strip faces a humanitarian crisis, as millions endure hunger and malnutrition. In October 2025, it estimated that 81 percent of all structures in the Gaza Strip were damaged.

The group’s executive board features U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. deputy national security adviser Robert Gabriel, U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, private equity executive Marc Rowan, and World Bank Group President Ajay Banga.

Trump chairs the board and retains full veto power over its decisions and membership.

The more than 25 Board of Peace member states have pledged a combined amount of more than $5 billion toward Gaza humanitarian and reconstruction efforts, as well as committing thousands of personnel for security in the Gaza Strip, Trump announced on Feb. 15. He said further details about the funding would be discussed at the board’s first meeting on Thursday.

The White House said on Feb. 18 that more than 40 nations and the European Union (EU) would be sending representatives to the board’s first meeting on Thursday, including some that have declined Trump’s invitation to join the board as member states.

Those sending representatives are Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, the EU, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, South Korea, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.

Trump, Rubio, Kushner, Blair, Witkoff, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz, former U.N. Middle East envoy and Board of Peace Director-General Nickolay Mladenov, and other attendees will speak at the ceremony, a senior administration official told The Epoch Times.

“Since the President and his world-class team ended the war between Israel and Hamas last October, we have maintained the ceasefire, delivered historic amounts of humanitarian aid, and freed every single living and dead hostage. The Board of Peace will continue this historic success and prove itself to be the most consequential international body in history,” White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said in a statement.

Multiple countries, including key U.S. allies and major world powers, have declined to join Trump’s Board of Peace, including France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway, Slovenia, Sweden, the UK, Poland, New Zealand, Spain, Croatia, Ireland, Slovakia, and Ukraine. Russia, China, Australia, and several other countries have yet to formally respond to invitations to join, while Canada had its invitation revoked by Trump over its position on Greenland.

Some world leaders have raised concerns about the board’s structure and how it will coexist with the U.N. Charter.