Egypt joins Trump's 'Board of Peace' not for Gaza's sake but over strategic, economic lures

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has joined US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace, a new, Trump-chaired body tasked with overseeing his plan to resolve Israel's war on Gaza through demilitarisation, transitional governance, and reconstruction.

In a statement on 21 January, Egypt's Foreign Ministry confirmed that President Sisi has agreed to participate and that the country would complete all necessary legal and constitutional procedures to formalise its membership on the board.

The ministry reiterated Egypt's appreciation for President Trump's leadership and emphasised Cairo's commitment to ending the conflict in Gaza while promoting lasting peace and stability across the Middle East.

This approval comes only a few days after President Trump invited Sisi to join the board. It also comes as a significant public backlash mounts against the new body.

An influential writer and commentator has called on Sisi not to join the board, warning that this body could undermine Egypt's strategic importance.

"Sisi was the only leader who dared to say 'No' to Trump," Ibrahim Essa declared on his YouTube channel during a broadcast on 19 January.

He warned that Egypt's participation in Trump's Board of Peace would seriously undermine the country's independent regional standing and strategic stature.

Nevertheless, a wide range of strategic, diplomatic, and practical reasons stand behind Sisi's approval to join the new board, analysts said.

These reasons are directly based on Egypt's role in the Gaza ceasefire and regional dynamics, they added.

"Egypt has long played a central role in regional peace-making efforts," Egyptian political analyst Ahmed Abdel Meguid told The New Arab.

He stressed the strategic value of Egypt joining Trump's Board of Peace, arguing that Cairo's presence on the body would serve as a vital safeguard.

"Egypt's participation would help prevent Israel from launching renewed aggressions against Palestinians in Gaza," Abdel Meguid explained.

Sisi is one of dozens of international figures who have been invited by the US president to serve on the board, also known as the Gaza Peace Council.

However, he is one of a few leaders who have so far accepted being part of it, despite the controversy it has stirred, especially regarding its charter's failure to mention Gaza explicitly.

Some countries also express caution over the scope of the board's mandate, its decision-making, and the potential to undermine the UN.

Announced formally in mid-January, the board draws authority from United Nations Security Council Resolution 2803 (2025), which endorsed Trump's plan for ending the conflict in Gaza and imposing a ceasefire in it.

Its initial and primary focus will be on the supposed second phase of the Gaza ceasefire plan, launched on 14 January.

Among many other things, the new board will mobilise international resources for Gaza's reconstruction and coordinate the demilitarisation of the Palestinian territory, along with the deployment of international security forces in it.

Direct vote

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty revealed that, for the first time, President Trump extended an invitation to the Egyptian president to join the board on 17 January.

Egypt's inclusion in the board will secure its direct vote in Gaza's post-war governance, analysts in Cairo argue.

This issue is of major importance for Cairo, particularly with the situation in the Palestinian territory directly affecting security in Sinai, the Egyptian territory that abuts both Gaza and Israel, they added.

"The security situations in Gaza and Sinai are deeply intertwined and inseparable, largely due to their immediate geographic proximity," Abdel Meguid explained.

Egypt increased troop deployments in Sinai, a territory the size of Israel, the occupied West Bank, Gaza, and Lebanon combined, in the wake of Israel's genocidal war on Gaza, fearing spill-over effects from the war.

Despite Israeli reservations, Cairo was afraid that the Israeli war would embolden what could be militant groups in Sinai to stage direct attacks against Israel, consequently drawing Egypt into a confrontation the regime does not want.

Egypt also fears that Israel's genocidal war would force Gaza's population of over 2 million to flee into Sinai, creating a permanent displacement crisis in Egyptian territory.

These fears were stoked even more because of explicit Israeli plans to resettle Gaza and kick its population out.

Egypt's $53 billion reconstruction plan for Gaza, unveiled and endorsed by Arab and Islamic nations in March last year, aimed primarily to sabotage Israeli plans to make Gaza unliveable.

Egypt's membership on the board, analysts said, would ensure it continues to push for the implementation of the reconstruction plan in ways that rebuild Gaza for its people.

Economic gains

The same membership would help Egypt have leverage amid pressure by the US president, who is keen to maintain engagement in Gaza after the war, observers said.

Together with regional power brokers, Qatar and Turkey, Egypt was instrumental in reaching the Gaza ceasefire in mid-October last year and implementing President Trump's 20-point plan for the Palestinian territory.

The US president has repeatedly emphasised Egypt's role in implementing the plan.

The same role may fall at the centre of talks between Sisi and Trump during their expected meeting on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, now underway in Davos, Switzerland.

Egypt's approval to join Trump's Board of Peace could strengthen bilateral ties with the US, potentially unlocking economic and, probably, military aid and debt relief at a time when Cairo faces many financial challenges, analysts said.

"Egypt and the US have built a strong, strategically rooted relationship over many years," said Ambassador Moataz Ahmadeen, Egypt's former permanent representative to the UN.

Speaking to TNA, he argued that Sisi's participation in Trump's Board of Peace would significantly enhance the body's international legitimacy, particularly at a time when critics fear the new mechanism is intended to sideline or supplant the UN.

"Egypt is now awaiting reciprocal steps from Washington in recognition of the substantial efforts Cairo has made in recent months to maintain regional stability and help bring the Gaza conflict to a close," Ambassador Ahmadeen added.

Some economic challenges faced by Cairo at present are induced by the war in Gaza, which has caused significant losses to the Suez Canal, a prime source of income for the populous Arab country.

Attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait forced international shipping lines to reroute to the safer Cape of Good Hope, dramatically causing revenue losses for Egypt.

Traffic to and from the canal is gradually returning, but a full return to regular traffic would require time, according to maritime transport specialists.

The same economic losses may also provide an additional incentive for Cairo to join the new board, analysts said.

As Egypt pushes its reconstruction plan for Gaza, this presence could also yield economic gains, primarily through contracts, infrastructure projects near the border, or redirected aid flows.

Egypt is already positioning itself as a regional reconstruction model, with local companies operating across several regional states and bidding for reconstruction projects in countries such as Syria and Lebanon.

Proximity to Gaza makes Egypt the best-qualified to win contracts for the supply of reconstruction materials and the implementation of projects in the neighbouring devastated Palestinian territory, the same analysts said.

"This becomes especially likely if Egypt's original reconstruction plan for Gaza, which the European Union endorsed, as well as Arab and Islamic nations, is put into action," Ambassador Ahmadeen explained.

However, he voiced concern that Egypt could ultimately be relegated to receiving only the "crumbs" if Washington sidelines Cairo's proposal in favour of alternative visions, such as Project Sunrise, the ambitious US-backed blueprint first reported by American media in December 2025.