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Kazakhstan has officially joined the Abraham Accords, becoming the first nation of US President Donald Trump’s second term to sign onto the landmark peace initiative aimed at normalising relations with Israel. Announcing the move on Friday, Trump wrote on Truth Social, “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.” Calling the development “a major step forward in building bridges across the World,” Trump added, “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,” he added. Donald Trump’s post on Truth Social The announcement came just hours before Trump hosted a summit in Washington with leaders of five Central Asian nations, including Kazakhstan. Ahead of the summit, Secretary of State Marco Rubio had a working breakfast with the Kazakh President, although the State Department made no mention of anything related to Israel. Rubio and Tokayev “discussed expanding opportunities for commercial trade and investment as well as increased cooperation with Kazakhstan in energy, technology, and infrastructure,” the department said in a statement. Earlier too, Trump had hinted that more countries were preparing to join the Abraham Accords, saying during his campaign and early in his second term that his administration was “bringing peace through strength and unity, not endless wars.” He had also said that nations from both the Middle East and Central Asia were in talks to join what he calls “the circle of peace.” Although Kazakhstan and Israel have maintained diplomatic relations since 1992, US officials said the move carries symbolic importance as it reaffirms the Abraham Accords’ expansion beyond the Middle East. One senior official told the Associated Press that the decision reflects “a renewed commitment to peace and cooperation” and said it would strengthen bilateral trade and collaboration in defence, cybersecurity, energy, and food technology. With the development, Kazakhstan now joins the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan in the US-brokered Abraham Accords, a key foreign policy achievement from Trump’s first term that sought to normalise relations between Israel and Muslim-majority nations. Kazakhstan has had diplomatic relations with Israel since 1992 and is much farther geographically from Israel than the other Abraham Accord nations. Those countries agreed to normalise relations with Israel as a result of joining the accords, something Kazakhstan did shortly after gaining independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union. ALSO READ | Moscow Accuses Pakistani Newspaper Of ‘Anti-Russia’ Coverage
