ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Kuwait have resolved to elevate their security partnership following the ratification of their defense cooperation agreement, according to an official statement circulated in Islamabad on Wednesday, as renewed hostilities between the United States and Iran continue to reshape the Gulf security landscape.
Pakistan's foreign ministry issued the statement after Kuwait's Foreign Minister Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah concluded an official visit to Islamabad, during which he held separate talks with Pakistan's top diplomat and the army chief to discuss regional security, defense cooperation and broader bilateral relations.
The bilateral defense cooperation agreement, signed in June 2023 and recently ratified by Kuwait, provides a comprehensive institutional framework for expanding defense cooperation through military training and education, joint exercises, exchanges of expertise and other mutually agreed areas of collaboration.
The development comes as Gulf states reassess their security arrangements after renewed fighting between Washington and Tehran reignited tensions across the region. Kuwait, like several other Gulf countries that host US military facilities, has come under repeated Iranian missile and drone attacks since the beginning of the war, highlighting growing concerns over regional security and accelerating efforts to strengthen defense partnerships.
"Pakistan welcomes the recent ratification of the Pakistan-Kuwait Defence Cooperation Agreement, signed in June 2023," Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said in response to media queries.
"This marks another important milestone in the longstanding defence partnership between the two brotherly countries, dating back to the early 1980s," he said. "It also reflects the shared resolve of both sides to further strengthen bilateral defence cooperation and elevate their security partnership."
Pakistan has emerged as a key mediator between the United States and Iran in the ongoing conflict.
Weeks of efforts by the Pakistani political and military leadership culminated last month in the signing of the 14-point Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, which established an interim ceasefire and a 60-day framework for negotiations between the US and Iran on Tehran's nuclear program, sanctions relief and maritime security.
The process has since come under strain following the resumption of military strikes by both sides this month.
Reuters reported last week that Pakistan and Kuwait had been negotiating broader defense cooperation alongside discussions on energy security and investment, although officials familiar with the talks cautioned that the negotiations remained at an early stage.
During his visit, Al-Sabah called on Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir at General Headquarters in Rawalpindi.
"During the meeting, matters of mutual interest, regional security and steps to further strengthen bilateral cooperation were discussed," Pakistan's military said in a statement.
"The visiting dignitary appreciated Pakistan's steadfast support, its constructive contribution toward regional peace and stability and the deep-rooted fraternal ties shared between the two nations," it said.
The statement added Munir reaffirmed Pakistan's commitment to Kuwait, emphasizing that both countries shared "a common vision for regional peace and prosperity."
Separately, Al-Sabah also held delegation-level talks with Pakistan Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, during which the two sides discussed multisectoral cooperation.
"The two sides reviewed the entire spectrum of Pakistan-Kuwait bilateral relations and discussed ways to further strengthen cooperation in trade, investment, energy, labor, agriculture, information technology, health, mining and minerals, defense, and the broader economic partnership," Pakistan's foreign ministry said in a statement.
"They agreed to further institutionalize bilateral cooperation through enhanced institutional linkages and regular high-level exchanges."
