New Delhi: India on Thursday attended the first meeting of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza Peace Commission as an “observer” state.According to the Press Trust of India, Chargé d’Affaires of the Indian Embassy in Washington, Nanga Khampa, sent representatives to attend the meeting at the Donald J. Trump Peace Institute in Washington, DC.India did not join the peace commission set up by Trump to rebuild the Gaza Strip, but attended the inauguration as an observer.Trump announced that the United States would commit $10 billion to the committee, whose members include 27 countries including Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Hungary, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Prime Minister Modi is one of many global leaders invited by the US President to join the committee announced under the second phase of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.India was one of the countries that did not attend a ceremony in Davos on January 22 where Trump unveiled the peace commission to try to bring lasting peace to Gaza and possibly resolve other global conflicts. The Peace Commission was seen as a rival to the United Nations. Trump has previously said a peace commission “could” replace the United Nations, which he said has never lived up to its potential.The executive committee was finalized on January 17 and is made up of diplomats and financiers, including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Jared Kushner and World Bank President Ajay Banga.Although the United States has initially formulated a $1 billion housing and infrastructure reconstruction plan, the funding is strictly linked to safety conditions.
