By Dr Lubna Farah
RAWALPINDI: Pakistan and Kuwait have signed the Protocol Agreement-2026, further strengthening the institutional framework for bilateral defence and military cooperation established under the Pakistan-Kuwait Defence Cooperation Agreement of 2023.
The protocol was signed by Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif and Kuwait’s Defence Minister Sheikh Abdullah Ali Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah, who is visiting Pakistan at the head of a high-level defence delegation. The delegation includes Kuwait’s Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Khaled Daraj Saad Al-Shuraiaan.
Under the protocol, the Pakistan Armed Forces will extend assistance to the Kuwaiti Armed Forces in areas including military training, capacity-building, border management and other mutually agreed fields of defence cooperation.
The latest agreement represents an expansion of the existing bilateral defence framework rather than the creation of an entirely new military alliance or mutual-defence pact. It builds upon the Defence Cooperation Agreement signed by Pakistan and Kuwait in June 2023, which was subsequently ratified by Kuwait in 2026.
Strengthening the Existing Defence Framework
The 2023 Defence Cooperation Agreement provides a comprehensive institutional framework for cooperation between the two armed forces. Its areas of cooperation include military training and education, joint activities and exercises, exchanges of personnel, experts and specialists, logistics, scientific and technological cooperation, military intelligence, information and communications systems, and defence industries.
The agreement also provides for the preparation of annual plans for bilateral military activities and the establishment of a Joint Military Committee to coordinate and monitor defence cooperation.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has previously clarified that the 2023 agreement is primarily centred on peacetime military cooperation, including training, capacity-building and institutional engagement. It should therefore not be interpreted as an automatic mutual-defence commitment requiring either country to enter a conflict on behalf of the other.
The ratification of the 2023 agreement was welcomed by Pakistan as an important milestone in the longstanding defence relationship between the two countries, which dates back to the early 1980s.
Field Marshal Asim Munir Meets Kuwaiti Defence Delegation
In a separate engagement, Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir received the Kuwaiti defence delegation at General Headquarters (GHQ), Rawalpindi.
The meeting focused on matters of mutual interest, regional security and bilateral defence cooperation. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening institutional ties and expanding cooperation between their respective armed forces.
The Kuwaiti delegation also appreciated the professionalism and operational capabilities of the Pakistan Armed Forces and their contribution to regional peace and stability.
The separate GHQ meeting underscores the military-to-military dimension of the relationship and complements the political-level engagement surrounding the signing of the 2026 protocol.
Strategic and Regional Significance
The new protocol carries broader strategic significance against the backdrop of an evolving Gulf security environment.
For Kuwait, deeper institutional cooperation with Pakistan provides access to an experienced military partner with established capabilities in professional military training, education and capacity-building. For Pakistan, enhanced defence cooperation with Kuwait strengthens its longstanding security engagement with the Gulf and expands institutional links with another key regional partner.
The development also reflects Islamabad’s broader approach of strengthening defence partnerships through training, professional exchanges, capacity-building and structured military cooperation, while maintaining diplomatic engagement on regional security issues.
The Pakistan-Kuwait arrangement should, however, be distinguished from the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement involving Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, which constitutes a separate framework. The two arrangements have different institutional and strategic contexts and should not be conflated.
A Deepening Defence Partnership, Not a New Alliance
The significance of the Protocol Agreement-2026 lies primarily in its continuity and institutional depth. Rather than replacing the 2023 Defence Cooperation Agreement, the new protocol builds upon it and provides an additional mechanism for expanding practical cooperation between the two armed forces.
The sequence — Kuwait’s ratification of the 2023 agreement followed by the conclusion of the 2026 protocol — indicates a progression from formalising the legal framework to strengthening its practical implementation.
Overall, the Pakistan-Kuwait Protocol Agreement-2026 marks a further step in consolidating the two countries’ longstanding defence partnership, with emphasis on military training, capacity-building, border management, professional exchanges and mutually agreed areas of defence cooperation.
The agreement reinforces the institutional character of Pakistan-Kuwait defence relations and reflects both countries’ stated commitment to promoting security, stability and peace in the region..
