BUDAPEST: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Saturday that he will be going to Washington “in two weeks” to attend the first meeting of US President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace.”
Although originally intended to oversee Gaza’s rebuilding, the board’s charter does not seem to limit its role to the Palestinian territory and appears to want to rival the United Nations.
One of the US leader’s closest allies in the European Union, the nationalist Orban attended the launch of the initiative last month in the Swiss ski resort of Davos.
“Two weeks from now we will meet again in Washington, because the Board of Peace, the peace body, will have an inaugural meeting,” he told a campaign event in the western town of Szombathely.
Permanent members must pay $1 billion to join, leading to criticism that the board could become a “pay to play” version of the UN Security Council.
Orban — currently the longest-serving national leader in the EU — faces an unprecedented challenge at a general election slated for April 12.
Independent polls show the opposition led by Peter Magyar, an ex-government-insider-turned-critic, is ahead with a stagnating economy and growing discontent with public services, among key issues.