US President Donald Trump has been nominated for 2021 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to broker peace between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The nomination was submitted by Christian Tybring-Gjedde, a member of the Norwegian Parliament, who cited his “key role in… creating new dynamics in other protracted conflicts, such as the Kashmir border dispute between India and Pakistan.”
“For his merit, I think he has done more trying to create peace between nations than most other Peace Prize nominees,” said Tybring-Gjedde.
In his nomination letter to the Nobel committee, Tybring-Gjedde said that Trump administration has played a key role in the establishment of relations between Israel and the UAE. “As it is expected other Middle Eastern countries will follow in the footsteps of the UAE, this agreement could be a game-changer that will turn the Middle East into a region of cooperation and prosperity,” he wrote.
Further, Tybring-Gjedde praised Trump for withdrawing a large number of troops from the Middle East. “Indeed, Trump has broken a 39-year-old streak of American Presidents either starting a war or bringing the United States into an international armed conflict. The last president to avoid doing so was Peace Prize laureate Jimmy Carter,” he wrote.
On Tuesday, a White House official had announced that Trump will hold a signing ceremony on September 15 for a groundbreaking Middle East agreement normalising relations between Israel and the UAE.
There are 318 candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize for 2020, of which 211 are individuals and 107 are organizations. 318 is the fourth highest number of candidates ever. The current record of 376 candidates was reached in 2016.
The nominations are shortlisted in February and March each year and the winners are announced in October.
