Kazakhstan is set to become the latest nation to join the Abraham Accords on Thursday evening, marking the first expansion of the agreement since 2020 and the first time a country with existing diplomatic ties to Israel has joined the framework.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is expected to announce Kazakhstan’s participation during a White House summit with President Donald Trump and leaders from four other Central Asian nations. According to US officials, Trump and Tokayev are scheduled to hold a joint call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to formalize the announcement.
Symbolic Move to Revive Accords
While Kazakhstan and Israel have maintained full diplomatic relations for more than 30 years, US officials describe the move as an effort to reinvigorate the Abraham Accords following the Gaza war. “This is going to show that the Abraham Accords is a club that many countries want to be a member of and it will be a step for turning the page on the war in Gaza and moving forward towards more peace and cooperation in the region,” a senior US official told Axios.
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff announced earlier Thursday at the America Business Forum in Miami that a new country would join the accords, though he declined to identify which nation. The announcement comes as part of the C5+1 summit, marking the first time a US president has hosted Central Asian leaders at the White House for this diplomatic format.
The timing coincides with broader US efforts to expand influence in Central Asia, a region rich in critical minerals and energy resources. On the same day, Kazakhstan and the United States signed a memorandum of cooperation on critical minerals. Central Asia produces roughly half of the world’s uranium and holds deep reserves of rare earth minerals essential for advanced technology.
The Abraham Accords were originally brokered by Trump during his first term, with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signing in September 2020, followed by Morocco in December 2020. Morocco’s participation came with US recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara. Sudan also joined the accords in 2020, though the agreement has not been implemented due to the country’s descent into civil war in 2023.
