President Donald Trump praised the members of his “Board of Peace” as “stars” in roughly 20 minutes of remarks ahead of his official signing ceremony, saying Thursday that they comprise “the biggest people, the most important people in the world.”
“When you use that genius that you have — that very unusual, very inspired genius — when you use that for peace, the opposite of peace has no chance,” he said.
Trump then sat on stage as the participating leaders came up one-by-one to sign the Board of Peace’s charter and exchange pleasantries.
“This is not just a ‘Board of Peace,’ this is a board of action,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a brief speech after signings. “It is going to be a successful effort, and you see it reflected here today among countries of different backgrounds from different parts of the world.”
In a video message played in the auditorium, Ali Shaath, chair of the Palestinian National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, said that the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza soon would be opening in both directions.
The ceremony kicked off a second day of meetings for Trump in Davos, with a handful of bilateral meetings expected over the next few hours. Trump is also slated to meet later with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, amid his continued efforts to negotiate a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia.
“Well, I just want to tell you it’s all happening,” Trump said as he concluded the event, calling Gaza a “beautiful piece of property.”
“What it could be for so many people, it’ll be so, so great,” he added. “People that are living so poorly are going to be living so well.”