US President Donald Trump confirmed on Thursday night that Kazakhstan would be joining the Abraham Accords.
"I just held a great call between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, of Israel, and President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, of Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan is the first Country of my Second Term to join the Abraham Accords, the first of many,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
He added, “This is a major step forward in building bridges across the World. Today, more Nations are lining up to embrace Peace and Prosperity through my Abraham Accords. We will soon announce a Signing Ceremony to make it official, and there are many more Countries trying to join this club of STRENGTH. So much more to come in uniting Countries for Stability and Growth - Real progress, real results. BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!"
He later announced the move during a meeting with President Tokayev, thanking him for taking that step.
Trump’s announcement came after Kazakhstan confirmed reports that it will join the Abraham Accords.
"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 quoted by AFP.
The confirmation followed an announcement by US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff earlier on Thursday, who revealed that the Trump Administration will reveal the next country to join the Abraham Accords later that night.
“Tonight, we will announce the joining of an additional country to the Abraham Accords and normalization with Israel,” Witkoff stated while addressing the America Business Forum in Miami.
Kazakhstan's joining the accords will be largely symbolic, as the nation already has ties with Israel.
The Israeli embassy in Kazakhstan was established in 1992, while the Kazakh embassy in Tel Aviv was established in 1996. In December 2016, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made his first official visit to Kazakhstan, and in January 2017, the country abolished the visa requirement for Israeli tourists.
The Abraham Accords are a series of historic peace and normalization agreements between Israel and four Arab and Muslim nations that were brokered and signed near the end of the first Trump administration in 2020. The announcement signals that a fifth nation has chosen to join the accords, the first to do so in five years.
The four nations that reached peace agreements with Israel in 2020 are the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan.
President Trump has expressed hope that Saudi Arabia will join the accords as well, but Saudi officials have long stated that a Palestinian state would be a condition for Saudi Arabia to normalize ties with Israel.