- Kuwait ratified a five-year Defence Cooperation Agreement with Pakistan, expanding Islamabad's Gulf military footprint.
- The agreement, approved through Amiri Decree No. 73 of 2026, formalises a defence cooperation deal signed in June 2023.
- The pact provides for joint military training, intelligence sharing, and defence technology, but isn't a mutual defense alliance.
- Unlike the Saudi pact, there’ll be no troop deployment under this agreement.
- This move signals waning Gulf trust in Washington, not Pakistan’s military heft.
- The new Kuwait-Pakistan defence pact strengthens military cooperation as Islamabad under Asim Munir deepens its security engagement with Gulf states.
- The move follows Saudi Arabia's Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement with Pakistan signed in September 2025.
- India closely monitors developments regarding the Kuwait-Pakistan military pact.
- India maintains a bilateral trade footprint of around $100 billion across the Gulf.
- The expansion of Pakistan's military partnerships is likely to remain under close scrutiny in New Delhi.
- This agreement comes against the backdrop of strained India-Pakistan ties following New Delhi's tougher counter-terror posture.
Kuwait has ratified a five-year Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA) with Pakistan, enhancing Islamabad's military presence in the Gulf. The pact, formalized through Amiri Decree No. 73 of 2026, includes provisions for joint military training, intelligence sharing, logistics support, and defense technology cooperation.2
Unlike Saudi Arabia's agreements, this pact does not involve troop deployment, indicating a strategic shift in Gulf defense partnerships. The deal, signed in June 2023, reflects a growing trend among Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states to seek military collaboration with Pakistan, as Kuwait becomes the second GCC nation to formalize such a partnership.
This development is significant for India, which maintains a robust bilateral trade footprint of around $100 billion across the Gulf and has strategic ties with several GCC members, including Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. The agreement comes amid strained India-Pakistan relations, particularly following New Delhi's tougher counter-terrorism stance and the suspension of data sharing under the Indus Waters Treaty.
As the region evolves, India is closely monitoring these developments, viewing them as a situation to observe rather than an immediate strategic setback.
“The Kuwait-Pakistan Defence Cooperation Agreement, approved through Amiri Decree No. 73 of 2026, formalizes military partnerships that include joint training and intelligence sharing. This pact, while deepening military ties, does not establish a mutual defense alliance, reflecting a shift in Gulf states' trust away from the US.”
