Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said on Thursday that Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama had been personally invited by U.S. President Donald Trump to take part in the newly launched “Peace Board” initiative, but did not attend, for reasons unknown to her.
Speaking in a live television interview after meeting Trump, Osmani said Rama was among the first leaders invited, describing Albania as a founding participant in the initiative.
“I know that Prime Minister Rama was invited because he was among the first to receive a personal invitation as a founding state,” Osmani said. “I would like to thank him for the cooperation we have had during this period.”
Osmani added that she was not aware of the specific reason why Rama did not travel to attend the meeting.
“Why the prime minister was unable to travel, I believe you should ask him, because in the last hours we have not been in communication,” she said. “But I do know that he was invited.”
Albania was not represented at the meeting, which took place on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos and brought together a group of countries invited by Trump as part of a U.S.-led diplomatic initiative.
Trump on Thursday formally launched the Peace Board by signing its founding charter alongside a diverse group of states, a move critics say could challenge the role of the United Nations in global conflict mediation, according to reports by Deutsche Welle and dpa.
Speaking on stage in Davos, Trump said the body “has the potential to become one of the most influential organisations ever created,” adding: “We will have peace in the world.”
Trump is set to personally chair the body, which he has presented as a new organisation aimed at initiating and leading peace processes in conflict zones. Countries contributing $1 billion would receive permanent membership, while other members would hold three-year terms. A full list of members has not yet been published.
According to the Trump administration, invitations were sent to around 60 countries, but few Western allies have publicly accepted. So far, Hungary and Bulgaria are the only European Union member states known to have joined.
Signatories include Argentina, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Egypt, Israel, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. Russia and China were also invited but have yet to give a final response.
The inclusion of Russia and Belarus has drawn particular criticism from Western governments, given Moscow’s ongoing war in Ukraine.
Several European powers, including Germany, France and Britain, did not attend the signing ceremony. Germany’s foreign minister said that an international peace forum already exists in the form of the United Nations, while French officials said Paris does not currently plan to join.