Kazakhstan said Thursday it will join the Abraham Accords between Israel and mainly Muslim nations.
The central Asian republic has had diplomatic ties with Israel for decades, unlike the four Arab states that normalized relations with Israel under the original accords signed in Trump’s first term.
But with Trump aiming to shore up his fragile Gaza ceasefire deal, Washington is pushing to get as much support as possible behind a wider peace initiative.
The announcement comes as Trump hosts Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and the leaders of the other four central Asian republics—Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan.
After the leaders arrived at the White House, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that he, Tokayev and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had held a “great call.”
An official signing ceremony will be announced soon, Trump said, adding that “there are many more Countries trying to join this club of STRENGTH.”
Kazakhstan said Thursday it was “natural and logical” for it to join.
“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,” the country’s government said in a statement.
Kazakhstan will be the first country to join since the original Abraham Accords in 2020, when the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco normalized ties with Israel.
Trump said at the America Business Forum in Miami on Wednesday: “We have a lot of people joining now the Abraham Accords and hopefully we are going to get Saudi Arabia very soon.”
He then added jokingly to an audience which included the Saudi ambassador to the United States, Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, “But I’m not saying that. I’m not.”
