Abraham Accords Countries Hold First Joint Meeting Since Oct 7
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES — WEB DESK: Senior officials representing the Abraham Accords countries met in New York on Thursday for their first formal joint gathering since the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attacks on Israel, as Washington seeks to revive cooperation and potential expansion of the diplomatic framework.
Representatives from the United States, Israel, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco attended the September 24 meeting, held in New York as world leaders and diplomats gathered for the United Nations General Assembly.
Officials from Kazakhstan also participated for the first time. Kazakhstan expressed interest in joining the framework last year, and its participation marked the first official Abraham Accords engagement to include the Central Asian country.
The US delegation was led by Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker. The meeting was convened by the N7 Foundation, which has worked to promote cooperation among Abraham Accords participants.
Hooker described the gathering as a sign that cooperation under the accords was moving forward again, nearly three years after the October 7 attacks and the subsequent Gaza war disrupted efforts to broaden the initiative.
First Gathering Since January 2023
There is an important distinction concerning how the meeting is described.
CBS News called Thursday’s event the first official meeting of Abraham Accords countries since October 7, 2023. The N7 Foundation’s account provides a more precise chronological benchmark, describing it as the first meeting of the accords countries since January 2023.
Both descriptions establish that the September 24 gathering marked the resumption of formal multilateral engagement after a lengthy interruption.
Express Urdu similarly reported that it was the first formal joint meeting since the October 7 attacks.
Kazakhstan Joins Talks for First Time
Kazakhstan’s participation was one of the most notable elements of the meeting.
President Donald Trump announced in November 2025 that Kazakhstan intended to join the Abraham Accords. Thursday’s participation represented a further step towards formalising its involvement.
A Kazakhstan embassy official told CBS News that the country was interested in cooperation in areas including technology and transportation.
The N7 Foundation said participants welcomed Kazakhstan’s forthcoming accession and discussed opportunities to deepen practical regional cooperation.
However, Kazakhstan’s attendance should not be confused with completion of a formal accession process. The available reporting describes the country as moving towards participation rather than establishing that all formal steps have already been completed.
Trade, Technology and Transport Discussed
Officials discussed ways to strengthen existing relationships among Abraham Accords countries and identify practical areas for further cooperation.
Discussions covered trade, technology, transportation and other areas of practical cooperation, along with possible next steps for expanding the framework to additional countries.
Participants also discussed formalising cooperation among existing members, CBS News reported.
N7 Foundation chairman Jeffrey Talpins said the next phase would focus on strengthening existing relationships and identifying practical opportunities for countries to work together.
What Are the Abraham Accords?
The Abraham Accords emerged in 2020 during Trump’s first presidential term and established diplomatic relations between Israel and several Arab states.
The UAE and Bahrain formally normalised relations with Israel under agreements announced in 2020, with Morocco subsequently joining the wider normalisation process.
Before October 7, 2023, there had also been significant diplomatic efforts aimed at securing normalisation between Saudi Arabia and Israel.
The Hamas-led attacks on Israel and the subsequent Gaza war sharply changed the regional political environment and slowed efforts to expand the agreements.
Relations between Israel and some Arab partners have also faced significant political pressure over the Gaza conflict and disagreements over the Palestinian issue.
Expansion Back on Diplomatic Agenda
Thursday’s meeting indicates renewed US efforts to place expansion and deeper cooperation under the Abraham Accords back on the diplomatic agenda.
A senior US administration official cited by CBS News said Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s team and White House Special Envoy for Peace Missions Steve Witkoff were prioritising the initiative.
However, the meeting itself did not announce a new Arab country joining the accords, nor did it establish that broader regional disputes involving Israel and the Palestinians had been resolved.
The immediate development is more limited but diplomatically significant: existing participants have resumed formal multilateral engagement, while Kazakhstan has joined the process as a prospective new participant.
