Kazakhstan will join the Abraham Accords, a diplomatic pact brokered by the United States to normalize relations between Israel and Muslim-majority nations, in a strategic move intended to curry favor with Washington.
Astana’s decision on November 6 is largely symbolic -- Kazakhstan has long recognized Israel and maintained diplomatic ties with the country since gaining independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
But joining the Abraham Accords, a hallmark achievement of US President Donald Trump’s first term in office, puts Kazakhstan at the center of a new push by the White House to reinvigorate the foreign policy initiative.
Expanding The Abraham Accords
The Abraham Accords were designed to bolster cooperation between Israel and the Muslim world, with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco signing the agreement in 2020 to normalize their relations.
The Trump administration is looking to expand the initiative, and it will be a focus of a planned visit to Washington on November 18 by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Kazakhstan, the largest and wealthiest country in Central Asia, will become the first country in that region to join the accords. The move expands the diplomatic agreement from the Middle East and North Africa to Central Asia.
“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,” a statement by the Kazakh government said.
For oil-rich Kazakhstan, a longtime ally of Moscow and a deepening partner of Beijing, joining the Abraham Accords is seen as an opportunity to partner with the United States.
“Sandwiched between Russia and China, Kazakhstan wants as many partners as it can get, and in particular Astana wants a more active relationship with the United States and Europe,” Andrew D’Anieri, the associate director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center, wrote in an analysis for the Washington-based think tank.
“Joining the Abraham Accords is a smart pragmatic step to get positive attention from Washington to help catalyze more concrete economic interest in Kazakhstan from US government agencies and the private sector.”
It was not a coincidence, experts said, that Kazakhstan announced that it will join the Abraham Accords as Trump hosted Central Asia’s five leaders at the White House. During the one-day summit, Trump announced trade, diplomatic, and mineral deals to strengthen US ties with a region long dominated by Moscow and increasingly tied to China.
Mineral Deals With Central Asia
Prior to the summit, Kazakhstan announced a major mineral deal through a new partnership with the United States to develop one of the world's largest untapped deposits of tungsten, which sits in the Central Asian country.
Joseph Epstein, director of the Washington-based Yorktown Institute's Turan Research Center, told RFE/RL that while the move by Kazakhstan may appear symbolic, it could hold diplomatic weight moving forward.
“Astana’s decision to join the Abraham Accords marks the beginning of a new phase, transforming the accords from a Middle East peace initiative to a pro-US coalition of moderate Muslim countries devoted to tolerance and prosperity,” Epstein said.
Other countries in Central Asia and the Caucasus have shown interest in joining the accords, including Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan, which borders Iran.
“Winning over key players such as Astana and Baku, with rich gas and uranium deposits and a location at the doors of the Caspian Sea, will provide the United States and Israel with a strategic edge over Russia and Iran in regions the latter traditionally viewed as their exclusive sphere of influence,” Sarah Zaaimi, senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Middle East Programs, wrote in an analysis for the think tank.
