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View all search resultsBoard of Peace ‘only viable option’ to stop war: Jusuf Wanandi
Jakarta-based Center for Strategic and International Studies’ (CSIS) senior fellow and cofounder Jusuf Wanandi views Indonesia’s participation in the United States-led Board of Peace as giving the country and other Muslim-majority nations leverage within the board.
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United States President Donald Trump (left) speaks at the Board of Peace launch during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 22, 2026. (AFP/Fabrice Coffrini)
I
ndonesia’s decision to join the Board of Peace together with a broad coalition of Muslim-majority countries was “the only viable option” to put an immediate end to the Gaza war, seasoned foreign policy insider Jusuf Wanandi concluded, after joining an hours-long dialogue with President Prabowo Subianto and members of Indonesia’s international relations community last week.
Speaking with The Jakarta Post on Friday, the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) senior fellow said that Indonesia’s participation was driven by an urgency to stop the war before the humanitarian situation deteriorated even further.
“If the war continues for another one or two years, there may be no Palestinian nation left to talk about,” Jusuf said at the CSIS Jakarta office.
As cofounder of the one-time foreign policy consultant for the Soeharto presidency, Jusuf was among a handful of figures to come around in support of Jakarta’s decision to join United States President Donald Trump’s initiative to rebuild the war-torn enclave. The board has been roundly criticized, including from traditional US allies, for excluding Palestinian figures and established United Nations frameworks and resolutions.
Prabowo’s administration had faced growing criticism from both the wider IR community and the nation’s vast Muslim majority, key voting blocs that staunchly supported Palestinian statehood since the start of the 20th century post-colonial movement.
Read also: Prabowo courts Islamic leaders to support Board of Peace membership amid pushback
The Presidential Palace convened closed-door talks with both groups on Feb. 3 and 4, where Prabowo himself sought to clarify his thinking on the Board of Peace and canvas inputs from venerated Indonesian observers and former top diplomats.
