Policy Paper

The 2025 Gaza Peace Summit, held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, represented a renewed international attempt to stabilise the Middle East after a prolonged period of violence and humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Convened under the joint auspices of the United States and Egypt, the summit brought together global and regional leaders to consolidate a fragile ceasefire, coordinate humanitarian assistance, and develop a framework for post-conflict reconstruction. Although direct representatives from Israel and Hamas were notably absent, the gathering sought to advance multilateral cooperation and humanitarian coordination under what became known as the Trump Declaration for Enduring Peace and Prosperity.

Central to the summit’s organisation and political momentum was the personal involvement of President Donald J. Trump and his presidential team. Building upon the foundations of the Abraham Accords, which normalised relations between Israel and several Arab states earlier in his second administration, President Trump’s approach combined pragmatic diplomacy with a focus on economic interdependence and regional stabilisation. His participation in the Sharm El-Sheikh summit symbolised an effort to reinvigorate American leadership in the Middle East and to reunite Israeli and Arab stakeholders around a shared vision of security and reconstruction. The summit thus reflected both a continuation of Trump’s earlier peace initiatives and an attempt to forge a broader consensus in an increasingly fragmented geopolitical environment.

Among the European participants, Norway’s presence was particularly significant, reaffirming its long-standing reputation as a credible mediator in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, a legacy rooted in its facilitation of the Oslo Accords in 1993. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre’s participation underscored Norway’s sustained engagement in humanitarian assistance and post-war reconstruction in Gaza, as well as its capacity to operate across multiple diplomatic arenas. While Norway’s traditional role as a neutral mediator remains widely recognised, some recent analyses – including commentary by Elliott Abrams – have highlighted debates over how Norway balances its humanitarian commitments with political engagement. These discussions suggest that, rather than abandoning impartiality, Norway is navigating the complex task of promoting human rights and international law while maintaining constructive dialogue with all parties involved in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In stark contrast, Romania’s absence from the summit highlighted a visible decline in its diplomatic visibility and strategic agency. Once regarded as a pragmatic interlocutor between East and West, Romania’s non-participation illustrates a broader erosion of influence within contemporary conflict mediation frameworks.

This paper therefore examines two interrelated dimensions of the summit’s diplomatic implications. Firstly, it analyses why Scandinavian countries – particularly Norway – continue to play strategic and respected roles in Middle Eastern peace processes, grounded in traditions of neutrality, humanitarian diplomacy, and institutional continuity. Secondly, it offers a critical reflection on Romania’s exclusion, situating it within the broader context of Eastern Europe’s diminished influence in global conflict resolution and the apparent reluctance of major powers, notably the United States, to acknowledge Romanian foreign policy as a credible contributor to high-level diplomacy.

The guiding question of this analysis is thus:

What does Norway’s inclusion and Romania’s exclusion from the 2025 Gaza Peace Summit reveal about the evolving hierarchy of small- and medium-state diplomacy in Europe?

Author: Dott. Ric. Cătălin-Gabriel Done, Vice President of ESGA Romania, Expert in Nordic Security and Cooperation

Policy Paper