The military cooperation framework between Kuwait and Pakistan has been in place since 2023.
Defense Minister Khwaja Asif and his Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Abdullah Ali Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah signed the protocol agreement for 2026 in Rawalpindi. Under the pact, Pakistan’s armed forces will train Kuwait’s military, build its defense capacity, and assist with border management. The deal builds on an underlying agreement signed in June 2023 but only formally ratified by Kuwait last month.
The agreement is the latest in a growing list. Pakistan has already signed a mutual defense pact with Saudi Arabia, joined a trilateral collective security agreement with Saudi Arabia and Turkey, called the Mecca Pact in August. Islamabad has deployed thousands of troops and a fighter squadron to Saudi Arabia and deepened training arrangements with Kuwait.
“Under the new agreement, the Armed Forces of Pakistan will extend assistance to the Armed Forces of Kuwait in diverse fields, including training, capacity building, border management and other mutually agreed areas of defense collaboration,” Pakistan’s defense ministry said in a statement.
Pakistan has been offering defence training and manpower to Gulf militaries for decades. What has changed is the pace and visibility of that role. Now Gulf countries are rushing towards formalizing these treaties, pacts, and agreements with Pakistan.
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Defense cooperation with Kuwait dates back to the late 1960s. In the 1990-1991 Gulf War, Pakistan had sent a large military contingent to Saudi Arabia, positioned defensively around Mecca and Medina after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990. Pakistan’s defence analysts claim that Pakistan-Kuwait defense collaboration is nothing new. However, the deal cannot be compared with the strategic mutual defense agreement that Pakistan has signed with Saudi Arabia last September. It contains no clause resembling the central commitment of the Mecca Pact or the SMDA, both of which claim that an aggression against one signatory will be considered an aggression against all.
The partnership with Kuwait includes training, logistics, intelligence sharing, and joint exercises overseen by an annual joint military committee. International media had reported in July that Kuwait and Pakistan are in discussions regarding expanding defense deployment alongside energy cooperation and investment.
Kuwait is seeking a substantially greater Pakistani military presence that would include thousands of troops, fighter jets, drones and air defense systems, according to the report, although a Pakistani security official said at the time that Islamabad was not considering deploying combat troops. Since the start of the Iran-U.S. war, Pakistan’s role in Middle East has increased diplomatically and militarily.
