India Mulls Trump Invite To Peace Board, As Israel Joins And China Vows To Protect UN

India is said to be considering an invitation from US President Donald Trump to join the Board of Peace for Gaza, as Israel agreed to join the arrangement, while China vowed to protect the existing international system under the United Nations.

As New Delhi was warned to assess the board’s legitimacy and mandate carefully before accepting Trump’s invitation, several other nations, including Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Qatar, UAE, and Pakistan, on Wednesday (January 21, 2026) confirmed their participation on the board.

India was also in consultation with Israel on a possible visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Tel Aviv and a reciprocal visit by his Israeli counterpart to New Delhi soon.

How has Modi engaged with West Asian leaders?

According to Indian media reports, Modi’s visit to Israel would be part of a larger engagement of India with the West Asian region in the context of the Israel-Hamas conflict. The visit could happen in the next few weeks, the reports said.

Meanwhile, India would host a 22-member delegation of the League of Arab States on January 20, 2026, in New Delhi, when the government would consult these close partners from the region on Trump’s peace plan.

India had only recently hosted the UAE’s Mohamed Bin Zayed in New Delhi when he joined Modi to announce enhancing the bilateral ties into a strategic partnership. UAE has now confirmed its participation in the Board of Peace.

When is Modi planning a visit to West Asia?

Citing unnamed sources, the reports said Modi was considering a visit to West Asia in February, based on invitations from several nations in the region, including Israel. He had last visited Israel in 2017 and Palestine in 2018. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to India has been pending for a while now after his previous plans were cancelled due to the Gaza conflict.

Israel, too, had on Wednesday (January 21) confirmed it would join the board announced by Trump. Netanyahu announced he agreed to Trump’s invite, after his office had criticised the composition of the board’s executive committee that included Türkiye, a regional rival to Israel.

What are Trump’s plan for the Board of Peace?

Trump’s Board of Peace was visualised as a small group of global leaders to implement the Gaza peace plan. But the board’s composition has grown ambitious, with invitations going to more than 60, and hinted at turning it into a pseudo-US Security Council.

Interestingly, Trump has also sent an invitation to Russian President Vladimir Putin to join the Board of Peace, but the Kremlin has yet to spell out whether it would accept it.

Why did China vow to defend the UN’s peacekeeper role?

Meanwhile, China confirmed on Tuesday (January 20) it has been invited to join Trump’s Board of Peace, but said it would protect the current international system under the United Nations, an euphemism that it doesn’t agree to the idea of the Board turning into a pseudo-UNSC to resolve global military conflicts.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a news conference on Wednesday (January 21, 2026) that Beijing would support a UN-based international world order regardless of changes.

“No matter how the international situation changes, China firmly upholds the international system with the United Nations at its core… international relations based on the objectives and principles of the UN Charter,” Guo said.

China, the world’s second-largest economy and a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, traditionally defends the UN system while calling for reforms.