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Prabowo invited to US for Trump Board of Peace meeting, eyes trade deal signing

With strong pro-Palestinian support at home and Indonesia’s commitment to a two-state solution, Prabowo has faced criticism since deciding to join the board.

Agencies
Jakarta
Mon, February 9, 2026 Published on Feb. 9, 2026 Published on 2026-02-09T16:56:24+07:00

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President Prabowo Subianto (right), United States President Donald Trump (center) and Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban take part in a charter announcement for Trump’s Board of Peace initiative aimed at resolving global conflicts, during the 56th annual World Economic Forum (WEF), in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 22, 2026. President Prabowo Subianto (right), United States President Donald Trump (center) and Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban take part in a charter announcement for Trump’s Board of Peace initiative aimed at resolving global conflicts, during the 56th annual World Economic Forum (WEF), in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 22, 2026. (Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)

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resident Prabowo Subianto has been invited to the United States on February 19 to attend a meeting about President Donald Trump's Board of Peace, an official said on Monday.

“There is [an invitation]… [The President] Not yet [to decide whether he’s coming]. We will announce when confirmed,” State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi told reporters at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta.

If the President decides to go, Prasetyo said Indonesia also hoped to sign a trade deal with Trump during the trip.

Despite public resistance at home, Prabowo signed Indonesia on as one of the first countries to join the Trump-led initiative during the World Economic Forum in Geneva.

With strong pro-Palestinian support at home and Indonesia’s commitment to a two-state solution, Prabowo has faced criticism since deciding to join the board.  The President has since met with Muslim leaders and foreign affairs experts to convince them that the board is the only chance to end war in Gaza.  

As the world’s largest Muslim country, Indonesia’s presence on the board lends its weight, despite skepticism from some Western powers, who have accused the board of being Trump’s attempt to undermine the United Nations.

The fact that there are no Palestinian representatives on the board has also increased doubts that the board would lead to peace in the war-torn region.

The Board of Peace touted by US President Donald Trump will hold its first leaders meeting on February 19, a US government official confirmed on Saturday, without offering further details.

The planned meeting was first reported by Axios, which said the gathering would also serve as a fundraising conference for the reconstruction of Gaza.

"We can confirm the Board of Peace meeting is scheduled on February 19th," the official said in a statement to Reuters. Further questions were referred to the White House, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Read also: Prabowo hints at harsh world politics challenging Indonesia’s non-alignment policy

The meeting would be held at the US Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, Axios reported.

At least one world leader has confirmed his participation. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, one of Trump's closest allies in the European Union, said at a campaign event on Saturday in the western city of Szombathely that he would go to Washington in two weeks to attend the Board of Peace meeting.

In late January, Trump launched the board that he will chair and which he says will aim to resolve global conflicts, leading to some experts being concerned that such a board could undermine the United Nations.

Governments around the world have reacted cautiously to Trump's invitation to join the initiative. While some of Washington's Middle Eastern allies have joined, many of its traditional Western allies have thus far stayed away. Permanent membership on the board costs $1 billion.

Read also: $1bn pledge to Board of Peace raises domestic concerns

A UN Security Council resolution, adopted in mid-November, authorized the board and countries working with it to establish an international stabilization force in Gaza, where a fragile ceasefire began in October under a Trump plan on which Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas signed off.

Under Trump's Gaza plan, revealed late last year, the board was meant to supervise Gaza's temporary governance. Trump thereafter said it would be expanded to tackle global conflicts.

Many rights experts say that Trump overseeing a board to supervise a foreign territory's affairs resembled a colonial structure and have criticized the board for not including a Palestinian. The fragile ceasefire in Gaza has been repeatedly violated, with over 550 Palestinians and four Israeli soldiers reported killed since the truce began in October.

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