India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) confirmed on Friday that New Delhi participated strictly as an observer in the inaugural meeting of the newly established Board of Peace (BoP), held at the Donald J Trump Institute of Peace in Washington DC. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal made the disclosure at his weekly media briefing on February 20, clarifying the limited nature of India’s attendance at the high-profile gathering.
India was represented at the meeting by Namgya Khampa, chargé d’affaires at the Indian embassy in Washington, according to PTI.
On the Gaza crisis, Jaiswal stated that India has welcomed President Donald Trump’s Gaza Peace Plan and supports ongoing diplomatic efforts under UN Security Council Resolution 2803, which endorses a “Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict” originally proposed on September 29, 2025.
The Washington meeting, however, was largely dominated by Trump’s assertions regarding South Asia. Speaking before the gathering — with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in attendance — Trump once again claimed that his personal intervention had prevented a full-scale war between India and Pakistan during Operation Sindoor, India’s military action against Pakistan-based terrorists in May 2025.
Trump said he threatened both countries with steep trade tariffs to halt the escalation. “I said, ‘if you fight, I’m going to put 200 per cent tariffs on each of your countries,'” Trump told the meeting. “When it came to losing a lot of money, they said, ‘I guess we don’t want to fight.'” He credited phone calls to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistani leadership as decisive in securing the May 10, 2025 ceasefire.
The Indian MEA has consistently denied any US role in the ceasefire, maintaining that the truce followed direct contact from Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) with New Delhi. India’s longstanding position holds that it does not allow third-party intervention in its bilateral decisions.
Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif, for his part, praised Trump as a “saviour of the people of South Asia” and thanked him for his “timely and very effective intervention.”
On the broader mandate of the Board of Peace, Trump outlined an ambitious role for the body, saying it would “almost be looking over” the United Nations to ensure the global body “runs properly.” He announced a US contribution of $10 billion to the BoP to support its conflict-resolution mission.
Reports cited at the meeting indicated that Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, and Kuwait have collectively pledged over $7 billion toward Gaza relief, while Indonesia, Egypt, and Jordan have committed troops and police personnel to help stabilise the region and build a “trustworthy Palestinian police force.”
The BoP’s founding Executive Board will be led by Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio, designated negotiator Steve Witkoff, and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.