Tel Aviv: President Donald Trump announced on November 6 that Kazakhstan will join the Abraham Accords.
This country has full diplomatic relations with Israel but the joining of the Abraham Accords is part of Trump’s initiative to add more Islamic countries to these accords.
The Abraham Accords are a set of agreements signed in 2020 that established diplomatic normalisation between Israel and several Arab states, beginning with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
Increased collaboration with Israel, particularly in the defence sector, is anticipated as a result of Kazakhstan’s adherence to the Abraham Accords; nevertheless, the scope of new Israeli defence system purchases will rely on Kazakhstan’s strategic priorities and procurement plans.
Kazakhstan already has diplomatic and economic connections with Israel, thus its involvement in the Abraham Accords is mostly symbolic. Nonetheless, the action is meant to strengthen bilateral cooperation, particularly in the areas of food technology, energy, cybersecurity, and defence.
According to Israeli sources, Kazakhstan’s participation might help Israel increase its influence in Central Asia and lessen Kazakhstan’s reliance on China and Russia for defence technologies. In an effort to update its armed forces and lessen its dependency on Russian hardware, Kazakhstan has been aggressively broadening its defence alliances.
The government has recently expanded defence spending in an effort to draw in foreign technology and investment, particularly from Gulf states, China, Israel, and Turkey. The shift in Kazakhstan’s military procurement strategy toward multi-vector cooperation and self-reliance may provide opportunities for Israeli defence industry.
-The writer is an Israel-based freelance journalist. The views expressed are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda
