Kazakhstan is anticipated to be announced on Thursday night as the newest country to join the Abraham Accords, which have normalized relations between Israel and Muslim-majority nations, according to a senior US official.
Although Kazakhstan already maintains full diplomatic relations and economic ties with Israel, this move would mainly serve a symbolic purpose. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan is scheduled to meet with President Donald Trump, alongside four other Central Asian leaders, at the White House on Thursday. This is part of the US’s effort to increase its influence in a region traditionally dominated by Russia and increasingly courted by China.
Witkoff Returns for Announcement
US special envoy Steve Witkoff stated at a business forum in Florida that he would return to Washington for the announcement, though he did not specify the country.
Axios was the first to report that Kazakhstan would be the country involved.
A second source familiar with the situation mentioned that the US hopes Kazakhstan’s inclusion will help revitalize the Abraham Accords, whose expansion has stalled during the Gaza conflict.
Trump has consistently expressed his desire to expand the accords, which he facilitated during his first term in the White House.
The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain established ties with Israel in 2020 under the Trump-facilitated Abraham Accords, with Morocco following later that year.
Trump remains optimistic about the possibility of regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia joining the accords since a ceasefire was established in Gaza last month, but Riyadh remains hesitant without a clear path to Palestinian statehood. 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 of which maintain close ties with Israel, are also considered potential candidates for joining the Abraham Accords, seen as a significant foreign policy achievement of Trump’s first term.
