The Trump administration is expected to announce on Thursday evening that Kazakhstan will be joining the Abraham Accords, according to multiple US and Israeli officials familiar with the matter, despite the two countries already having longstanding diplomatic relations.
The accords are President Donald Trump’s signature foreign policy accomplishment from his first term, and the White House is looking to expand the circle of countries that fall under the agreement.
The administration believes that Kazakhstan’s addition to the Abraham Accords will be “just the tip of the iceberg,” according to a source familiar with the matter.
The announcement, expected during a meeting between Trump and five Central Asian nations, marks the first country to join the Abraham Accords since 2020. But it’s unclear if there will be any substantive change or upgrade to the diplomatic relations Israel and Kazakhstan have had for decades.
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff hinted at the announcement Thursday during an appearance at a Miami financial conference.
“Abraham Accords – I’m flying back to Washington tonight, because we’re going to announce tonight another country,” Witkoff said, declining to provide specifics.
On Thursday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio also met with Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. The two discussed “expanding opportunities for commercial trade and investment,” according to a readout of the meeting provided by the State Department.
Tokayev’s office said in a statement that Kazakhstan was ready to “engage in constructive dialogue on deepening multifaceted cooperation.”
The Trump administration has made the expansion of the Abraham Accords one of its top foreign policy goals. The accords saw Israel normalize relations with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and others. The US is now trying to advance normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia, but Riyadh has made clear that it would only happen with a viable pathway to Palestinian statehood, something openly dismissed by Israel’s government.
Last month, Trump told Time Magazine that “Saudi Arabia will lead the way toward the Abraham Accords.” When asked whether he thought the country would join the accords by the end of the year, Trump responded, “Yes, I do. I do.”
