Pakistani premier to attend Board of Peace inaugural meeting in Washington

​​​​​​​ISLAMABAD

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will attend the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace (BoP), scheduled for Feb. 19 in Washington, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday.

"I can confirm that the prime minister will attend the upcoming BoP meeting. He will be accompanied by the Deputy Prime Minister-Foreign Minister [Ishaq Dar]," spokesman Tahir Andrab told reporters in Islamabad.

He did not share details about Sharif's engagements in Washington but said that "we will inform you in due course of time."

Andrab said Pakistan will join eight other Muslim nations to raise a voice for the rights of Palestinians at the meeting.

"We will continue to strive for the rights, peace and prosperity of the people of Palestine, aimed at the long-term solution of the Palestine issue -- to create a state of Palestine, in accordance with the pre-1967 border with Al Quds Al Sharif (Jerusalem) as its capital," he said.

On Jan. 22, representatives of 19 countries signed the Charter of the Board of Peace on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The Board of Peace was created within the framework of peaceful settlement efforts in the Gaza Strip. Washington has said additional states have since joined the initiative.

The first meeting is expected to take place at the level of leaders invited by the Trump administration to participate in the association.

Fundraising for the reconstruction of Gaza is set to be the central theme of the meeting.