Pakistan signs military training pact with Kuwait; expands regional defence footprint

Pakistan’s “Protocol Agreement-2026” with Kuwait, signed in Rawalpindi on Thursday, commits the Pakistani armed forces to training Kuwaiti military personnel, developing Kuwait’s defence capacity, and providing direct assistance with border management operations. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and Kuwaiti Defence Minister Sheikh Abdullah Ali Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah put their names to the accord, formalizing a framework that Pakistan’s Ministry of Defence says was first established in June 2023, though Kuwait only ratified the underlying agreement last month.

The deal is structured around concrete delivery mechanisms. Oversight runs through an annual joint military committee, and the partnership encompasses training, logistics, intelligence sharing, and joint military exercises. What it does not include is a collective-defence clause. Zahid Mahmood, a former two-star Pakistani general now working as a defence analyst, was direct on this point: “It doesn’t mean there’s an Article 5-style collective-defence commitment in place. But it is considerably more institutionalised and structured than before.”

The Kuwait arrangement sits within a broader pattern of defence formalization across the Gulf. In recent years, Pakistan has signed a mutual defence pact with Saudi Arabia, joined the trilateral “Mecca Pact” with Saudi Arabia and Turkiye, deployed thousands of troops and a fighter squadron to Saudi Arabia, and expanded training arrangements with Qatar. What distinguishes this recent wave is not the provision of military services itself, which Pakistan has offered to Gulf militaries for decades, but the speed of these agreements and the willingness of Gulf capitals to commit them to formal, signed protocols rather than maintain them as quiet operational arrangements.

One operational detail stands out. Umer Karim, an associate fellow at the King Faisal Centre for Research and Islamic Studies in Riyadh, noted that the agreement grants Pakistan a specific role in securing Kuwait’s border with Iraq. “If Pakistani troops get deployed to Kuwait and are positioned on its border, it essentially brings this agreement closer to the Pak-Saudi one,” he said. “For now, Pakistan’s defence engagement with Gulf states is beginning to take a more concrete shape. While it still is not essentially a security umbrella, it is helping these states diversify their defence partnerships and add another layer of deterrence.”

The timing reflects shifts in regional security calculations. Analysts point to weakened confidence in US security guarantees following Israel’s September 2025 strike on a Hamas compound in Doha, where negotiators were engaged in indirect talks with Israel. Days after that incident, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed their mutual defence agreement. During the US-Iran war that began in February this year, Iranian strikes targeted US and Kuwaiti positions on Kuwaiti soil, including an attack that killed six US soldiers near Port Shuaiba.

Pakistan’s diplomatic positioning enhances its value to Gulf states in ways that are difficult to replicate. It is the only nuclear-armed country in the Muslim world, serves as a mediator between the United States and Iran, and maintains strong relations with Arab nations and China. This allows Gulf countries to diversify their security partnerships without the diplomatic complications that might accompany similar arrangements with Beijing.

What Pakistan gains from this expanding role remains less clearly defined than what it provides. The country received a record 41.6 billion dollars in remittances in the last financial year, with close to half originating from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. In 2023, Field Marshal Munir told Pakistani businessmen that Gulf states could invest up to 100 billion dollars in Pakistan, though delivered investment has fallen far short of that projection three years on.

Karim was candid about the uncertainty on the returns side. “It is not clear what Pakistan will gain in return, but most likely the support from Kuwait can come in the form of subsidised energy supplies, though that will only mature if the Strait of Hormuz saga ends in one manner or another. Kuwait may also open up visas for Pakistani workers,” he said. Pakistan currently has approximately 95,000 of its nationals in Kuwait.

Mahmood framed the strategic advantage in broader terms. “Any strategic cooperation of this kind makes you far more relevant, and that relevance now extends well beyond the region,” he told Al Jazeera. He acknowledged risks inherent in operating within a region where conflicts can take sectarian dimensions, but suggested the Kuwait agreement could strengthen Pakistan’s economic relationships and help address some of the country’s economic challenges. Whether the operational commitments embedded in the protocol translate into the economic returns Pakistan is seeking is the question this agreement leaves open.