Abraham Accords Expand to Central Asia With Kazakhstan Set to Join

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – In a significant diplomatic move aimed at breathing new life into a hallmark of his first administration's foreign policy, U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that the Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan is set to join the Abraham Accords, the series of landmark normalization agreements between Israel and Arab and Muslim-majority countries. 

The action, confirmed by the U.S. President after a call with the leaders of Israel and Kazakhstan, is being hailed by the White House as a "major step forward in building bridges" and the first of "many more" nations expected to embrace the initiative during his second term, a development that comes as the President hosted an unprecedented summit with the leaders of all five Central Asian nations, signaling a newly assertive American engagement with the resource-rich and strategically vital region.

The announcement, as reported by The Associated Press, is largely symbolic in its immediate effect, as Kazakhstan, a vast, Muslim-majority country, has had full diplomatic relations with Israel since 1992, shortly after gaining its independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

This stands in contrast to the original signatories of the accords—the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan—which all agreed to normalize their long-frosty or non-existent relations with Israel as a condition of joining.

However, U.S. officials have framed Kazakhstan's participation as an important and timely gesture, one that enhances bilateral cooperation, signals that Israel is becoming less isolated internationally—particularly after a period of intense global criticism over its conduct in the war against Hamas in Gaza—and, crucially, demonstrates renewed momentum for the President's signature peace-building project.

The move was first confirmed to The Associated Press by three U.S. officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Hours later, on Thursday, President Trump took to his social media platform to make the news public.

He announced that he had held "a great call between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, of Israel, and President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, of Kazakhstan," and declared that Kazakhstan is the "first Country of my Second Term to join the Abraham Accords, the first of many.”

Trump's post was imbued with a sense of triumphant optimism, casting the development as part of a much broader global realignment. He called Kazakhstan's decision "a major step forward in building bridges across the World" and stated that "more Nations are lining up to embrace Peace and Prosperity through my Abraham Accords."

He promised that a signing ceremony would soon make the agreement official and added, with characteristic bravado, "there are many more Countries trying to join this club of STRENGTH.” His message concluded with a flourish: “So much more to come in uniting Countries for Stability and Growth — Real progress, real results,” he wrote. “BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!”

U.S. officials, speaking to the AP, maintained that President Trump's nascent peace plan for Gaza had "completely changed the paradigm" in the Middle East, and that as a result, many countries were now willing to "move toward the circle of peace" that it had created.

They detailed specific areas where the new accord would enhance Israeli-Kazakh cooperation, including defense, cybersecurity, energy, and food technology.

While acknowledging that these have all been subjects of previous bilateral agreements dating back to the mid-1990s, the officials suggested that embedding them within the framework of the Abraham Accords would elevate and deepen this collaboration.

The announcement came as President Trump hosted an unprecedented summit with the leaders of all five Central Asian nations: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The "C5+1" meeting, as it was dubbed, reflects a heightened interest from the West in the resource-rich region, where the traditional influence of Russia has been questioned since its invasion of Ukraine, and where China has emerged as a major economic player.

"We're strengthening our economic partnerships, improving our security cooperation, and expanding our overall bonds," Trump said before a dinner with the leaders, as reported by Agence France-Presse (AFP).

A key item on the agenda, he noted, was critical minerals. The United States and the European Union are increasingly drawn to Central Asia's vast and largely unexploited natural resources as they seek to diversify their supply chains for rare earths and reduce their dependence on China.

Kazakhstan is the world's largest producer of uranium, Uzbekistan has giant gold reserves, and Turkmenistan is rich in natural gas, making the region a geostrategic prize in the 21st-century global economy.

The Central Asian leaders, for their part, were effusive in their praise for the American President, a stark contrast to the more reserved diplomatic language typically heard at such summits.

"You are the great leader, statesman, sent by heaven to bring (back) common sense and traditions that we all share and value," gushed Kazakh President Tokayev. Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev was equally lavish, telling Trump, "Before that, none of the presidents of the United States of America ever treated Central Asia as you do... In Uzbekistan, we call you the president of the world."

For President Trump, whose foreign policy has often prioritized economic cooperation over the promotion of democratic values, the summit was a clear success, resulting in what he announced on social media as "an incredible Trade and Economic Deal" with Uzbekistan, involving a pledge of nearly $35 billion in investment in key U.S. sectors over the next three years.

However, the summit also drew criticism from human rights groups. Human Rights Watch issued a statement ahead of the talks, noting that the event was "taking place while all participating governments have increased efforts to stifle dissent, silence the media, and retaliate against critics at home and abroad."

Despite these concerns, the biggest diplomatic takeaway of the day was the expansion of the Abraham Accords. It is a clear and symbolic victory for the Trump administration, a demonstration that the initiative, which had stalled in recent years, is once again a central pillar of its Middle East policy.

As the U.S. continues to navigate the complex aftermath of the Gaza conflict and seeks to build a broader regional coalition, the inclusion of a major Muslim-majority nation like Kazakhstan, even one with pre-existing ties to Israel, is being presented as a powerful sign of a changing and more hopeful diplomatic landscape.