Kazakhstan is poised to become the latest nation to join the Abraham Accords, a senior White House official confirmed to Ynet on Thursday, marking a potential symbolic expansion of the U.S.-brokered agreements that normalized ties between Israel and several Muslim-majority states.
The official said the announcement would take place during a meeting at the White House between U.S. President Donald Trump and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Donald Trump, Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif al-Zayani and Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan wave from the White House balcony after signing the Abraham Accords, normalizing relations between Israel and the two Gulf states, in Washington, Sept. 15, 2020
(Photo: Alex Brandon/AP)
Earlier in the day, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said a new country was set to join the accords but declined to name it. Speaking at a business forum in Florida, Witkoff noted that he would return to Washington for the announcement Thursday night.
Kazakhstan has maintained formal diplomatic relations with Israel since 1992 and operates an embassy in Tel Aviv. The two countries established consular-level ties in April 1992, followed by the opening of embassies in both capitals later that year. In December 2016, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu became the first Israeli leader to visit the Central Asian nation, meeting with then-president Nursultan Nazarbayev.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with then-Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev, 2016
(Photo: GPO)
Earlier Thursday, the official website of Kazakhstan’s embassy in Israel reported that President Tokayev met in Washington with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other members of the Trump administration. In the meeting, Tokayev reportedly stressed the strategic opportunities for deepening economic ties between Kazakhstan and the United States, and reaffirmed Kazakhstan’s commitment to political dialogue at multiple levels.
Kazakhstan’s anticipated inclusion in the Abraham Accords comes amid U.S. efforts to expand the agreements beyond Arab nations to include Muslim-majority countries that already maintain diplomatic relations with Israel. A Reuters report in August revealed that Washington was pushing to bring additional countries—such as Azerbaijan—into the accords in symbolic moves intended to deepen regional cooperation.
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US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnik, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio
(Photo: Kazakhstan Embassy in Israel)
At the time, early-stage consultations were said to be underway between Azerbaijan and neighboring states, including Kazakhstan. Officials cited shared interests between Israel and several Central Asian countries—such as Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan—as a basis for expanding cooperation in the diplomatic, security and economic arenas through the accords.
Since its initial signing in 2020, the Abraham Accords have been a cornerstone of U.S. diplomatic efforts in the Middle East, aimed at fostering regional cooperation and reshaping alliances in the wake of shifting geopolitical interests. Current signatories include the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.
The addition of a new signatory would represent a significant development amid heightened tensions in the region following the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel and ongoing hostilities involving Iran-backed groups in Lebanon, Syria and Yemen.