site.btaDuring Launch Ceremony, High Representative for Gaza Nickolay Mladenov Says Board of Peace Will Create Opportunities for 1 Bln People

Bulgarian diplomat and former UN envoy for the Middle East Nickolay Mladenov said on Thursday that it is a great honour and a massive responsibility for him and his team to be part of the Board of Peace for Gaza, led by US President Donald Trump.

Mladenov has been appointed High Representative for Gaza under the Board of Peace.

“Who would have thought two years ago that we would be sitting here with this group of countries, with this leadership, giving the people in Gaza a new chance,” said Mladenov during the official ceremony launching the Board, which took place in Davos.

He described Palestinian participants in the Board as “an amazing group of Palestinian technocrats.” In his words, these are “people who you don’t see on the news” and “are not media personalities,” but they are “experts who are committed to giving their people a chance in life.”

“For too long, Gazans, Palestinians and Israelis have lived with conflict, with death, with destruction. Now the page turns, and whether the page turns successfully really depends on all of us. We have the ingredients for it. We have the leadership of the United States and President Trump. We have a great group of countries joining the Board of Peace, and more to come. We have a fantastic Palestinian team on the ground and we must make it work. Our partnerships are there, our plans are in place, and we need your support,” said Nickolay Mladenov.

He urged skeptical observers to put away “their talking points, their fears and their concerns.”

“Please stop listening to the rumors and gossip. Focus on what we need to do today, because the future of two million Palestinians is at stake. If we give them a chance, we will do more than that. We will create opportunities for one billion people who live in the Middle East and beyond, who are responsible and who want to see transformation and a chance in life for the future . So please, join us on this journey, join the Board of Peace and join us in supporting this excellent initiative,” the Bulgarian diplomat said.

He once again thanked President Trump and the United States for taking this decisive leadership forward.