Battered by Iran, Kuwait looks to join Pakistan's Nato-like deal with Saudi Arabia

A year after Islamabad and Riyadh signed a Nato-like mutual defence pact, Kuwait is exploring a similar arrangement with Pakistan. But fears of being dragged into the US-Iran War could limit Pakistan's willingness to extend its security commitments in the Middle East.

The small oil-rich Gulf nation of Kuwait, which was battered by repeated Iranian drone and missile strikes in the course of the US-Iran war, is reportedly exploring a mutual defence pact with Pakistan similar to the one Islamabad signed with Saudi Arabia last year. Kuwait already has a defence cooperation agreement with Pakistan, but is looking to expand it on the lines of the Nato-like pact the latter has with Saudi Arabia.

Kuwait has hosted at least three American military bases with over 13,000 personnel. On Friday (July 24), the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of Iran claimed that it hit the Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait that was used by US forces. The IRGC said that the drone strike left "a large number" of American personnel dead or injured, according to reports.

Kuwait's push for an expanded defence deal with Pakistan comes at a time the US has visibly failed to protect its allies in the Middle East from Iranian drone and missile attacks.

According to a report in the Kuwait-based news outlet, Kuwait Times, the country on Sunday (July 26) ratified a broad defence cooperation agreement with Pakistan that it had signed back in 2023. The agreement establishes a framework for cooperation between the armed forces of Pakistan and Kuwait and focuses on military training, intelligence sharing, logistics, defence technology, research and exchanges of expertise.

That being said, according to a report in news agency Reuters, even before ratifying the 2023 agreement, Kuwait has been actively negotiating an even more expanded defence pact with Islamabad in exchange for energy cooperation and investment. According to the report, the deal is similar to the one signed between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, under which both countries are committed to come to each other's defence in the event of an attack.

However, while Pakistan had previously considered extending similar defence arrangements to countries such as Turkey and Qatar, Kuwait's push for a mutual defence pact may prove more difficult, given Islamabad's concerns about being drawn into the ongoing US-Iran war.

WHAT IS THE MILITARY AGREEMENT SIGNED BETWEEN KUWAIT AND PAKISTAN?

Before we go into Kuwait's bid for a mutual defence treaty with Pakistan and what obstacles such an agreement might face, let's first have a look at the existing agreement between the two sides that was ratified on Sunday.

According to reports by the Kuwait Times and Turkish news agency Anadolu Agency, Kuwait on Sunday ratified a broad defence cooperation agreement with Pakistan, three years after it was signed, citing the country's official gazette, Kuwait Al-Youm.

Originally signed in June 2023, the agreement establishes a comprehensive framework for military cooperation between the Kuwaiti and Pakistani armed forces. It covers military training and education, intelligence sharing, logistics, defence technology, scientific research, military manufacturing, electronic communications systems, and exchanges of expertise. It also provides for joint military exercises, official visits, and cooperation in military media, as well as cultural and sports activities.

The agreement creates a joint military committee to oversee its implementation and coordinate bilateral defence initiatives. It will remain in force for five years, with automatic renewal, unless either side decides to terminate it. The pact also includes provisions for protecting confidential military information and resolving disputes through diplomatic channels.

However, according to a Reuters report from earlier this month, Kuwait and Pakistan have been negotiating an expanded defence pact in exchange for Kuwaiti energy cooperation and investment similar in scope to one signed between Islamabad and Riyadh.

WHAT IS THE SAUDI-PAKISTAN-TYPE DEFENCE PACT THAT KUWAIT WANTS TO SIGN

According to the Reuters report, Kuwait is now seeking a deal with Islamabad that would be similar to Pakistan's pact with Saudi Arabia, including "thousands of Pakistani troops on the ground, fighter jets, drones, an air defence system, and other defence-related facilities", said a Pakistani government official.

For context, the Saudi Arabia-Pakistan Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement signed in September last year commits both countries to come to each other's defence in the event of an attack.

The pact significantly expanded military cooperation, with Saudi officials describing it as a comprehensive defensive agreement encompassing "all military means," including placing Riyadh under Pakistan's nuclear umbrella. As part of the deal, Islamabad has deployed 8,000 troops, a squadron of JF-17 fighter jets and an air defence system to Saudi Arabia.

It is a similar kind of agreement that Kuwait is hoping to ink. "They (Pakistan) are already in with the Saudis, they have a long history of defence development, they are Muslim Sunni, they have a good relationship with the Americans, so it's not as sensitive as some other options," a Middle East source familiar with Kuwait's security planning told Reuters.

WHAT ARE THE OBSTACLES KUWAIT MIGHT FACE IN GETTING AN EXPANDED DEFENCE PACT WITH ISLAMABAD?

On one hand, Pakistan has been looking to expand its mutual defence pact with Saudi Arabia to other countries, including Turkey and Qatar. Back in May, Pakistan’s defence minister Khawaja Asif stated on a local television show that such an arrangement was currently in the process of being finalised on Monday, adding, "If Qatar and Turkey also join this existing agreement, it will be a welcome development," reported the news outlet Bloomberg.

Alongside these two nations, Reuters reported that Bahrain was also interested in a similar pact and that Jordan has expressed interest in a weapons and training deal. So, on paper, this should clear the decks for Kuwait to negotiate a mutual defence deal with Pakistan.

However, the outbreak of the US-Iran war, and its fallout in the form of repeated missile and drone strikes across the Gulf has complicated matters. According to a report in Reuters earlier this month, officials in Islamabad are worried about being drawn into the war after the Tehran-backed Yemen-based proxy group, the Houthis, launched missile strikes against Saudi Arabia with whom it signed a mutual defence pact.

"Pakistan wasn't anticipating that the tensions would rise so suddenly," Muhammad Amir Rana, a Pakistani security analyst told Reuters.

Kuwait, meanwhile, has been hit even harder than the Saudis. According to a report in The Financial Times, the small nation has faced nearly 1,400 Iranian missile and drone strikes since the war began in February this year. These strikes have hit critical Kuwaiti infrastructure, including ports, oil storage and refining faculties, desalination plants and the Kuwait International Airport.

This might make Pakistan, already nervous about being entangled in the US-Iran war, less receptive to another defence pact with Kuwait.

IS PAKISTAN WILLING TO EXPAND DEFENCE COOPERATION WITH KUWAIT?

Reuters reported that it remains unclear whether Islamabad is willing to go that far, given that its agreement with Saudi Arabia was built on decades of close strategic ties. "Kuwait's wish list includes everything," a Pakistani security official familiar with the talks told the agency. "But let me be clear about one thing. We are not, and we cannot consider a deployment of combat troops at this stage."

A Middle Eastern source also confirmed that Kuwait and Pakistan have held discussions, including on defence procurement, but cautioned that it was "not clear whether this will amount to a defence pact per se."

That being said, Kuwait has other cards to play in pursuit of a defence pact.

Pakistan has increasingly viewed defence agreements as a means to attract much-needed foreign investment, giving Kuwait room to sweeten the terms of a broader security deal.

According to Reuters, Islamabad is seeking deeper cooperation on energy security as part of any expanded agreement. A Pakistani source familiar with the talks said Kuwait is exploring the creation of a bonded fuel storage facility in Pakistan, building on an existing government-to-government diesel supply arrangement between the two countries.

In any case, it is unlikely that a Nato-style mutual defence deal between Kuwait and Pakistan can progress beyond talks as long as tensions between the US and Iran remain high. However, it is interesting to note how Pakistan, the only nuclear Islamic country with a big standing military, is being looked at by smaller nations as the Middle East burns.

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