“Next week I will take part in the first meeting of the Board of Peace in Washington, responding to the invitation addressed by the President of the United States of America, Donald Trump,” Dan wrote on X, after having recently said that his country was still considering whether to join the body, of which Trump is the chairman.

The board, originally intended to oversee the rebuilding of the Gaza Strip after two years of the Israel-Hamas war, is set to have its first meeting on Feb 19 in Washington.

Its permanent members must pay US$1 billion to join, which lead to criticisms that the board could become a “pay-to-play” version of the UN Security Council.

“Romania will have observer status and I will reaffirm our strong support for international peace efforts and our willingness to participate in the reconstruction process in the Gaza Strip,” Dan added on X on Sunday.

Earlier this week, the Romanian president told reporters that Romania is interested in taking part in the Washington talks as the country “has traditional relations with both Israel and the Arab countries in the region”, adding that “the situation in Gaza is important for Europe”.

Since Trump launched his “Board of Peace” at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, at least 19 countries have signed its founding charter.

Some countries, including Croatia, France, Italy, New Zealand and Norway, have declined to join, while others like Romania have said they could only consider doing so if its charter were changed.