Military cooperation: Pakistan, Kuwait sign ‘Protocol Agreement-2026’

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Kuwait on Thursday signed the “Protocol Agreement-2026” to significantly expand bilateral military cooperation, including training, capacity building and border management, according to the Ministry of Defence.

The agreement was signed during the visit of a high-level Kuwaiti delegation led by Kuwait’s Minister of Defence, H.H. Sheikh Abdullah Ali Abdullah Al-Saleem Al-Sabah, who called on Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif at the Ministry of Defence in Rawalpindi.

The Kuwaiti defence minister was accompanied by H.E. Lieutenant General Khaled Daraj Saad Al-Shariaan, Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces of Kuwait.

According to the Ministry of Defence, the two sides discussed matters of mutual interest, with particular focus on bilateral defence relations, security cooperation and measures to further strengthen defence ties between Pakistan and Kuwait.

The ministry said the new Protocol Agreement builds upon the existing military cooperation framework established under the “Defence Cooperation Agreement-2023”.

Under the Protocol Agreement-2026, Pakistan’s Armed Forces will extend assistance to the Kuwaiti Armed Forces in diverse areas, including training, capacity building, border management and other mutually agreed fields of defence cooperation.

The Ministry of Defence said the agreement reflected the “deep trust, mutual respect and shared strategic interests” underpinning the longstanding defence relationship between the two countries.

Both sides also reaffirmed their commitment to further deepen the defence partnership in support of mutual security as well as regional peace and stability.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026