Kazakhstan announces it will join the Abraham Accords

Kazakhstan has announced that it will be joining the Abraham Accords, marking the first new country to join the Middle East peace initiative since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

The central Asian’s country’s President, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, made the announcement during a meeting with US President Trump on Thursday. While Kazakhstan already has full diplomatic relations with Israel and an active embassy in Tel Aviv, its entry into the Accords is deemed highly significant and indicates a shift for other states which have previously normalised relations.

It is also hoped that the announcement by Kazakhstan, a majority-Muslim country, will help to break the post-Gaza war taboo of opening or expanding cooperation with Israel, and that others will follow in due time, especially Syria and Saudi Arabia.

Amit Segal, chief political analyst for Israel’s news channel N12, wrote on Twitter/X that “the goal of the agreement is to bring Kazakhstan into the American-Israeli-Arab alliance against Iran. The United States has plenty of good reasons to draw this Muslim-majority country closer. After all, its territory is enormous, spanning over 1 million square miles, while the country has a vast amount of resources, including oil, copper, metals, and even uranium (it is actually the world’s largest uranium exporter, producing around half of the global supply).”

He notes that Kazakhstan is also a member of the CSTO, the Eurasian military alliance consisting of post-Soviet states, “which has been losing relevance in recent years” and like many former Soviet republics, Kazakhstan has a complicated relationship with Russia.

Segal added that ultimately, the signing “represents progress in the regional alliance that Donald Trump has been working to build since his first term. In short: Kazakhstan joining the Abraham Accords is not about opening embassies in Israel like with the UAE or other Arab states, and it’s not about peace with a former enemy. It’s a strengthening of the Washington-Astana axis, and a huge warning sign to Moscow and Tehran.”

Danny Danon, Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nation, said: “Congratulations to Kazakhstan on joining the Abraham Accords – strengthening the regional alliance for peace.”

In a statement, the European Jewish Congress said: “Kazakhstan’s decision to join the Abraham Accords is a welcome sign that dialogue and cooperation with Israel continue to expand. This step reinforces the belief that mutual recognition and engagement remain the strongest foundations for peace and regional stability.”

The current members of the Abraham Accords are Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco. Sudan signed the general declaration but has not yet finalised an agreement for normalised relations, due to internal instability.