Pakistan and Kuwait signed a five-year military agreement in Rawalpindi on Thursday, expanding cooperation in training, border security, intelligence, defense technology and other areas as the two countries deepen their security relationship.
Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif and Kuwait’s Defense Minister Sheikh Abdullah Ali Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah signed the Protocol Agreement-2026 during an official visit by Kuwait’s defense leadership to Pakistan. The agreement includes provisions for automatic renewal.
The pact expands on the Defense Cooperation Agreement signed by Pakistan and Kuwait in June 2023.
“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.
The agreement also provides for intelligence sharing, joint exercises, logistical support, and cooperation on defense technology development and military manufacturing.
Pakistan’s defense ministry said the Protocol Agreement-2026 significantly strengthens the military cooperation framework established by the 2023 agreement.
The signing follows months of discussions between Islamabad and Kuwait over broadening their security relationship. Kuwait has faced attacks during the conflict involving Iran and the United States.
Reuters reported in July, citing five sources familiar with the discussions, that the two countries were considering an expanded defense arrangement alongside greater energy cooperation.
Kuwait was seeking a significantly larger Pakistani military presence that could potentially involve thousands of troops as well as fighter jets, drones and air-defense systems, Reuters reported. A Pakistani security official, however, said at the time that Islamabad was not considering sending combat troops to Kuwait.
The new bilateral agreement also comes after Pakistan joined Turkey and Saudi Arabia in the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement.
Under that pact, an attack against any one of the three participating countries is considered an attack against all three.
