Trump says ‘very possible’ he be first US president to visit Kazakhstan | US | News
President Trump hosted the leaders of five Central Asian countries at the White House on Thursday, marking his latest effort to gain influence in the region. He signaled that he could become the first US president to visit Kazakhstan.
Trump met with officials KazakhstanKyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan during an evening summit and dinner in Washington. The meeting took place at a time when competition for the region’s natural resources was intensifying. In particular, the United States hopes to gain access to critical minerals, energy resources, and overland trade routes.
When asked if he was considering visiting. KazakhstanThe president said it was “very possible we could do that.”
“Your country has great natural resources and a great president, a very great president,” Trump said. It is not yet clear if the American leader actually plans to become the first president to visit the country.
Although no US commander in chief has ever stopped by the Central Asian country, previous Secretaries of State such as Hillary Clinton, Condoleezza Rice and Antony Blinken have done so.
Hours before the meeting, the administration announced that Kazakhstan would join the Abraham Accords, a series of agreements signed in 2020 that normalized diplomatic relations between Israel and several Arab countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.
“We are expanding [the Abraham Accords] A little bit, when a few of these countries come in, it’s a huge expansion, and these are very important countries, so we consider it a great honor that it’s come to our attention that they want to do this, and we think it’s great. So this is really a major expansion of the Abraham Accords,” the president said at the press conference.
Before the conference, the president shared the agreement on his Truth Social account, noting that Kazakhstan was the first country “among many” to join the agreement in his second term.
“The first Country to join the Abraham Accords in my Second Term, the first of many. This is a huge step towards building bridges around the world. Today, more countries are lining up to embrace Peace and Prosperity through my Abraham Accords. We will soon announce a Signing Ceremony to formalize this, and there are many more Countries seeking to join this POWER club,” the President wrote.
American and Kazakh leaders were cordial throughout the meeting; The foreign head of state declared that Trump was sent from heaven.
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev told President Trump, “You are the great leader, the statesman sent by Heaven to restore common sense and traditions that we all share and value… Millions of people in many countries are very grateful to you.” he said.
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The meeting between the six countries had previously been hinted at by administration officials. Gracelin Baskaran, director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the United States would seek to secure access to vital minerals through intergovernmental cooperation, Reuters reported.
“As China and Russia consolidate their control over the region’s mining, processing and infrastructure systems, Washington is trying to establish a concrete foothold through targeted strategic projects,” Baskaran said. he said.
The summit came a day after Secretary of State Marco Rubio welcomed leaders at the State Department to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the C5+1 alliance of five countries and the United States. During the meeting, Rubio touted the possibility of expanding the countries’ economic ties.
“We often spend so much time focusing on crises and problems that deserve attention, sometimes we don’t spend enough time focusing on exciting new opportunities,” Rubio said. “And that’s what exists here now: an exciting new opportunity where the national interests of our respective countries align.
Securing natural resources is likely to be a complex negotiation as Russia and China expand their influence in the region through large-scale infrastructure and mining investments. The five Central Asian countries are home to about 84 million people combined and have a powerful arsenal of uranium, copper, gold, rare earths and other strategic minerals needed for efforts to transition to greener forms of energy.
Early last month, Beijing expanded export restrictions on vital earth elements and magnets and then announced that China would delay new restrictions for a year following a meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. China accounts for approximately 70% of the world’s rare earth mining and controls approximately 90% of global rare earth processing.
