Kazakhstan Joins Abraham Accords in “Symbolic” Win for US Diplomacy

The Trump administration is set to announce Kazakhstan as the newest member of the Abraham Accords, a move confirmed by U.S. officials on Thursday, November 6, 2025. President Donald Trump is expected to formalize the announcement at a White House summit with the leaders of five Central Asian (C5) nations, including Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
This development, first reported by Axios, is a significant “win” for the Trump administration, which is seeking to revitalize its signature first-term foreign policy initiative.
Unlike the original signatories—the UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco—Kazakhstan’s entry is “largely symbolic,” as the Central Asian nation and Israel are not enemies. In fact, they have enjoyed full, stable diplomatic relations for over 30 years, since 1992, shortly after Kazakhstan’s independence from the Soviet Union.
The timing and motivation for this “friendship bracelet ceremony” are key. According to U.S. officials, the move is a deliberate effort to “reinvigorate” the accords, which had stalled during the 2023-2025 Gaza war. U.S. officials told Axios the goal is to show the accords are “a club that many countries want to be a member of” and to “turn the page” on the conflict, which had left Israel facing increased international criticism.
For Kazakhstan, the decision is a calculated diplomatic maneuver. President Tokayev, who reportedly asked to join the accords ahead of the C5+1 summit, is seeking to strengthen his country’s ties with Washington. The move, which Kazakhstan’s government called a “natural and logical continuation” of its foreign policy, coincides with new U.S.-Kazakh agreements on critical minerals and energy, offering the nation a pathway to greater integration with Western economies, independent of its powerful neighbors, Russia and China.
While the grand prize of the accords, Saudi Arabia, remains on the sidelines—reportedly unwilling to normalize relations without a pathway to Palestinian statehood—the addition of Kazakhstan allows President Trump to declare that the Abraham Accords are back, expanding, and still the primary framework for peace in the region.