Pakistan and Kuwait have signed a new agreement to expand military cooperation, with Islamabad set to provide training, capacity-building and border-management support to the Gulf state as regional security concerns grow amid ongoing tensions involving Iran.
The new protocol builds on a defence cooperation agreement signed between the two countries in 2023. The development comes weeks after Kuwait ratified that agreement and Pakistan joined Saudi Arabia and Türkiye in a separate mutual defence pact amid heightened tensions in the Middle East, reports Arab News.
The agreement was signed on Thursday during a visit to Pakistan by Kuwaiti Defence Minister Sheikh Abdullah Ali Abdullah Al-Saleem Al-Sabah. During the visit, he met Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir in Rawalpindi.
Under the new agreement, Pakistan’s armed forces will assist Kuwait’s armed forces in areas including training, capacity building, border management and other mutually agreed fields of defence cooperation, Pakistan’s Defence Ministry said in a statement.
The ministry said the “Protocol Agreement 2026” significantly strengthens the military cooperation framework established under the Defence Cooperation Agreement signed by Pakistan and Kuwait in June 2023.
The move follows months of discussions between the two countries on expanding security cooperation. Kuwait has faced security challenges during the conflict involving Iran and the United States.
Reuters reported in July, citing sources familiar with the discussions, that Pakistan and Kuwait were negotiating an expanded defence arrangement alongside cooperation in energy and investment sectors.
According to the report, Kuwait was seeking a larger Pakistani military presence that could include thousands of troops, fighter aircraft, drones and air-defence systems. However, a Pakistani security official said at the time that Islamabad was not considering deploying combat troops.
Pakistan has been strengthening defence relations with Middle Eastern countries as the conflict involving Iran has reshaped the region’s security landscape and raised concerns over the protection of energy-producing Gulf states.
Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, under which the three countries agreed to consider an attack on one as an attack on all.
The three governments have said the agreement is defensive in nature and is not aimed at any specific country.
The latest developments come as countries across the Middle East reassess their security arrangements amid a conflict that began on 28 February with US and Israeli attacks on Iran and later spread across the region.
Kuwait has been among the Gulf countries affected by the conflict.
During Thursday’s visit, the Kuwaiti delegation also met Field Marshal Asim Munir at Pakistan’s military headquarters, where the two sides discussed regional security issues and agreed to strengthen institutional defence cooperation.
“The engagement reaffirmed the resolve of Pakistan and Kuwait to further consolidate their historic and brotherly relations into a strong, enduring and mutually beneficial defence partnership, contributing to regional security and stability,” Pakistan’s military said in a statement.
