Pakistan and Kuwait sign new defence protocol in Rawalpindi

Pakistan and Kuwait have signed a new defence protocol in Rawalpindi, expanding military cooperation between the two countries. The agreement, called the Protocol Agreement-2026, was signed on Thursday by Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and his Kuwaiti counterpart, Sheikh Abdullah Ali Abdullah Al-Sabah. Pakistan's Ministry of Defence said the deal significantly strengthens a cooperation framework that has been in place since 2023.

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Under the protocol, Pakistan's armed forces will help train Kuwait's military, support defence capacity building and assist with border management. The ministry said the arrangement builds on an underlying agreement signed in June 2023, which Kuwait formally ratified only last month. The signing took place in Rawalpindi, a city that hosts key military institutions and is often associated with Pakistan's defence establishment.

The agreement adds to a wider pattern of Pakistan deepening defence ties with Gulf states. In recent years, Pakistan has signed a mutual defence pact with Saudi Arabia, joined a trilateral collective-security arrangement with Saudi Arabia and Turkiye known as the Mecca Pact, deployed troops and a fighter squadron to Saudi Arabia, and expanded training arrangements with Qatar. Pakistan has also provided training and manpower to Gulf militaries for decades, but the pace and visibility of these arrangements has increased.

For Kuwait, the deal reflects a long-standing security relationship with Pakistan that dates back to the late 1960s. That history includes Pakistan's deployment of a large military contingent to Saudi Arabia during the 1990-91 Gulf War, when Iraqi forces had invaded Kuwait in 1990. The current protocol does not appear to contain a mutual-defence clause similar to the one in Pakistan's separate agreement with Saudi Arabia, according to a defence analyst cited in the report.

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The new protocol is significant because it formalises a relationship that has often operated through quieter military cooperation. It also shows how Gulf states continue to look to Pakistan for training and security support, particularly in areas such as border management and force development. For Islamabad, the agreements may strengthen its strategic profile in the Gulf, even though the direct gains for Pakistan remain less clear from the available details.

The signing also comes at a time when Pakistan is broadening its security partnerships beyond its immediate neighbourhood. The report says the country's recent agreements with Gulf partners have become more visible and more explicitly documented, suggesting a shift from informal cooperation to signed frameworks. That trend may matter for regional defence planning, especially as Gulf states seek diversified security relationships.

What remains unclear is how much practical change the Kuwait protocol will bring, beyond the stated areas of training, capacity building and border management. The ministry has not set out the scale, duration or operational details of the arrangement. It is also not yet clear whether the agreement will lead to new deployments, exercises or further institutional steps in the months ahead.

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