New Zealand declines invite to join Board of Peace

WELLINGTON, Jan 30 (Reuters) - ⁠New Zealand decided ⁠against ‍accepting U.S. President Donald Trump's invitation to join his Board of Peace, New Zealand’s Prime ‍Minister Christopher Luxon said in a statement on ​Friday.

Trump launched his Board of Peace last week, initially designed to ​cement Gaza's rocky ceasefire, but which he foresees playing a wider role that concerns other global powers.

He has invited dozens of other ​world leaders to join, and while Middle East powers including Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, as ​well as major emerging nations such as Indonesia, have joined the board, global ‌powers and traditional Western U.S. allies have been more cautious.

Luxon said in an email statement ​that the decision had been ⁠made not to join the Board of Peace in “its current form.”

New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston ‌Peters added in a post on X that a number of states, particularly from the region, have stepped up ‌to contribute to the Board’s role on Gaza, and “New Zealand would ‌not add significant further value to that.”

Peters post added that as a “a leading founder and longstanding supporter” of the United Nations, it ‍is important that the Board’s work is complementary to and consistent with the UN ⁠Charter.

“It is a new body, and we need clarity on this, and on other questions relating to its scope, now and in the future,” Peters said.

(Reporting by Lucy Craymer; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama )

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