Kazakhstan, other Central Asian countries eye normalization with Israel

US President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that Kazakhstan is preparing to join the Abraham Accords. It would be the fourth Muslim majority country to normalize relations with Israel under the diplomatic framework first signed in 2020. The UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco have already ratified the Abraham Accords.

Trump made the statement after holding a phone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Kazakhstan’s President Kassym Jomart Tokayev.

"We will soon announce a Signing Ceremony to make it official, and there are many more Countries trying to join this club of STRENGTH," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The Kazakh government stated that the decisions on the matter are approaching at the concluding stage, as Kazakhstan already has full diplomatic and economic ties with Israel.

"Our anticipated accession to the Abraham Accords represents a natural and logical continuation of Kazakhstan’s foreign policy course, grounded in dialogue, mutual respect, and regional stability," it added.

This suggests that the decision would be mostly symbolic, a characterization that Secretary of State Marco Rubio disputed on Thursday. 

"It's an enhanced relationship beyond just diplomatic relations." It is with all the other countries that are part of the accord. You're now creating a partnership that brings special and unique economic development on all sorts of issues that they can work on together."

Trump met with Tokayev, along with the leaders of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, at the White House on Thursday, as Washington aims to expand its influence in Central Asia, a region traditionally aligned with Russia and increasingly engaged by China.

“Some of the countries represented here are preparing to join the Abraham Accords, and we will be announcing those developments in the near future,” Trump stated.

While Kazakhstan already maintains full diplomatic and economic ties with Israel, joining the Abraham Accords would formally align it with a broader regional network of cooperation.

Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan, both of which share longstanding diplomatic ties with Israel, are among the Central Asian states considered likely to join the Abraham Accords. The agreement is often described as a defining foreign policy milestone of Trump's initial presidency