Kuwait is moving to deepen defence cooperation with both India and Pakistan, with separate high-level engagement with the countries. While India and Kuwait held the inaugural meeting of their Joint Defence Committee (JDC) in New Delhi on Friday, Kuwait and Pakistan signed a new agreement on Thursday to further strengthen their existing defence cooperation.
The engagements with both India and Pakistan cover areas ranging from military training and capacity building to exercises and defence industry cooperation.
The first meeting of the India-Kuwait JDC was held in New Delhi on Friday, during which the two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation across training, military exercises, military medicine, staff talks, defence industry and Research and Development (R&D), according to a release from the defence ministry.
The meeting marked a step towards implementing the objectives of the Memorandum of Understanding on Defence Cooperation signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Kuwait in December 2024.
The meeting was co-chaired by Joint Secretary Amitabh Prasad and Brigadier General Raed Alsakran, who headed a five-member Kuwaiti delegation.
The Indian delegation included representatives from the three Services, Department of Defence Production, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Armed Forces Medical Services and Ministry of External Affairs.
India and Kuwait established diplomatic relations in 1962, and the relationship was elevated to a Strategic Partnership during the PM Modi's Kuwait visit in 2024.
Kuwait signs new defence agreement with Pakistan
The engagement with India comes just a day after Kuwait and Pakistan signed the 'Protocol Agreement-2026' to expand bilateral defence cooperation.
The agreement was signed during a meeting between Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and a high-level Kuwaiti delegation led by Defence Minister Sheikh Abdullah Ali Al-Sabah at the ministry of defence in Rawalpindi.
Kuwait's Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces, Lt Gen Khalid Al-Shriaan, also accompanied the delegation.
The two sides discussed bilateral defence relations and security cooperation, with the new agreement expanding the existing military cooperation framework established under the 'Defence Cooperation Agreement-2023'.
Under the agreement, Pakistan's armed forces will provide assistance to Kuwait's military in areas including training, capacity building, border management and other mutually agreed fields of defence cooperation.
According to an official statement, the agreement reflects the trust, mutual respect and shared strategic interests underlying the defence relationship between Kuwait and Pakistan.
The Kuwaiti delegation also met Pakistan's Field Marshal Asim Munir at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi.
The back-to-back developments highlight Kuwait's efforts to strengthen its defence relationships with both India and Pakistan.
The nature of cooperation with the two countries also covers a broad range of areas. With India, the focus includes training, exercises, military medicine, staff talks, defence industry and R&D. With Pakistan, the latest agreement covers training, capacity building, border management and other areas of defence collaboration.
While the India-Kuwait Joint Defence Committee is aimed at operationalising the defence cooperation MoU signed in 2024, Kuwait's new agreement with Pakistan builds upon the Defence Cooperation Agreement signed in 2023.
