US President Donald Trump said that Kazakhstan will join the Abraham Accords to have normalized relations between Israel and Muslim-majority nations. The announcement came after Trump said he had held a call with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev."We will soon announce a Signing Ceremony to make it official, and there are many more Countries trying to join this club of STRENGTH," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The Kazakh government said in a statement that the matter was in the final stage of negotiations."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," it added. Kazakhstan already has full diplomatic relations and economic ties with Israel, meaning the move would be largely symbolic, something Secretary of State Marco Rubio pushed back against on Thursday.

"It's an enhanced relationship beyond just diplomatic relations," he said. "It is... with all the other countries that are part of the accord. You're now creating a partnership that brings special and unique economic development on all sorts of issues that they can work on together. US special envoy Steve Witkoff said earlier at a business forum in Florida that he would be returning to Washington for the announcement, without naming the country.

Axios first reported that the country would be Kazakhstan. A second source familiar with the matter said the United States hopes that Kazakhstan's entry will help reinvigorate the Abraham Accords, the expansion of which has been on hold during the Gaza war.Trump has repeatedly said he wants to expand the accords that he brokered during his first term in the White House.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)