US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he believes Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will join the Board of Peace, which will be responsible for overseeing the redevelopment of Gaza.
The UN Security Council, earlier this week, passed a US-sponsored resolution that gave the Board, to be chaired by Trump, a broad mandate to manage Gaza over the next two years.
Speaking on Wednesday at the US-Saudi Investment Forum in Washington, Trump said, "They endorsed the United Nations, what's called the Board of Peace, chaired by a person called Donald J. Trump. I accepted the chairmanship. They asked me to be chairman. That's what I needed. It's just a little more work. But it's a great honor. That’ll be the greatest board ever assembled.”
He added, “When you see this board, this board will blow every board away. And I believe we're going to be lucky enough to have the Crown Prince be a very distinguished member of the board."
Trump, who hosted a special dinner for the Saudi Crown Prince on Tuesday night, after their meeting at the White House, expressed hope that the Crown Prince would join the Board of Peace.
“I hope your highness will be on the board,” Trump said to the Crown Prince. “Everybody wants to be on the board, and it’ll end up being quite a large board because it’ll be the heads of every major country.”
The dinner followed Trump’s earlier meeting at the White House with the Saudi Crown Prince. After the meeting, the White House announced that the two leaders finalized a sweeping series of agreements that significantly deepen the US-Saudi strategic partnership.
In his remarks on Wednesday, Trump said Saudi Arabia will be sent the US-made F-35 fighter jets “very quickly.”
“We’re working on getting that approved very quickly. It’s already approved, don’t worry. We have to go through a process… the process will take 24 hours, so you’re in good shape,” he stated.