US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Kazakhstan will join the Abraham Accords to normalize relations between Israel and Muslim-majority nations.
The announcement came after Trump said he had held a call with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
“We will soon announce a signing ceremony to make it official, and there are many more countries trying to join this STRENGTH club,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The Kazakh government said in a statement that the matter was in the final stage of negotiations.
“Our anticipated accession to the Abraham Accords represents a natural and logical continuation of Kazakhstan’s foreign policy course based on dialogue, mutual respect and regional stability,” he added.
Kazakhstan already has full diplomatic and economic relations with Israel, meaning the move would be largely symbolic, something Secretary of State Marco Rubio rejected on Thursday.
“It’s an enhanced relationship beyond just diplomatic relations,” he said. “It is… with all the other countries that are part of the agreement. Now a partnership is being created that brings special and unique economic development on all kinds of issues that they can work on together.”
Trump met with Tokayev along with four other Central Asian leaders from Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan on Thursday at the White House as the United States seeks to gain influence in a region long dominated by Russia and increasingly courted by China.
“Some of the countries represented here will be joining the Abraham Accords… and those announcements will be made in the near future,” Trump said.
Witkoff returns for the announcement
US special envoy Steve Witkoff earlier said at a business forum in Florida that he would return to Washington for the announcement, without naming the country.
axios first reported that the country would be Kazakhstan.
A second source familiar with the matter said the United States hopes Kazakhstan’s entry will help revitalize the Abraham Accords, whose expansion has been on hold during the Gaza conflict.
Trump has repeatedly said he wants to expand on deals he negotiated during his first term in the White House.
The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain established ties with Israel in 2020 under the Abraham Accords brokered by Trump. Morocco established ties with Israel later that same year.
Trump has been optimistic about the prospects of regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia finally joining the agreements since a ceasefire in Gaza went into effect last month, but Riyadh has shown no willingness to move forward without at least a path to a Palestinian state.
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is expected to visit the White House on November 18.
Other Central Asian countries, such as Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan, both with close ties to Israel, have also been considered to join the Abraham Accords, seen as a signature foreign policy achievement of Trump’s first term.
