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Despite opting out of contributing the $1 billion fee required to become a permanent member of Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, Kazakhstan has continued to publicly highlight its membership.
Aryeh Lightstone (left), a senior adviser to the Trump-initiated Board of Peace, stands with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev (center).
On June 4, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev welcomed an unusual American representative to Astana: Aryeh Lightstone, a senior adviser to the Trump-initiated Board of Peace. While the publicly stated purpose of the meeting was to discuss Kazakhstan’s role within the board, which was ostensibly established to help rebuild Gaza, public records show that the two sides also discussed trade cooperation and logistics more broadly. Lightstone additionally conveyed greetings from U.S. President Donald Trump.
The meeting comes at a time when the Board of Peace has reported major funding gaps in relation to its Gaza reconstruction project set to cost $70 billion in total. The reported shortfall appears to stem from the founding members failing to provide funding as planned. Part of the financing model for the board relied on member states pledging $1 billion in exchange for permanent membership on the board.
